Shigofumi: Remembering When my World Ended
by DrawBee
Summary: Shigofumi are letters from the departed. The dead's last chance to say what they couldn't when they were alive. A veteran postal worker has transferred over to Ritsu's area to deliver them. All of the postal workers are dead, including her, taking on the appearance of before they died. All is not as it seems as Ritsu struggles to deal with his hidden past memories. Not a crossover.
1. Transfer

**A/N: Hey there people! This is my second SIH fic, my first one (my baby) is back in the crossover section! It's a Mawaru Penguin Drum crossover, which I hope you will all eventually read.**

**I decided to do this fic because I was thinking back to anime that really struck a chord in me, one of which was Shigofumi: Letter of the Departed!**

**To understand the basics of Shigofumi, you can look up the summary and find what the postal worker uniform looks like but I'm also working on the character design for my OC Tsuri, who I hope you will all love by the next few chapters. This isn't entirely a crossover since none of the characters from Shigofumi are going to appear, just so you know.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sekaiichi Hatsukoi but I do own my OCs, Tsuri and Yara.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"It's finally over."

It's a crispy cold night. A certain brunet lifted up his soft white scarf to his reddish nose, breathing into it for momentary warmth to his cold skin. The frigid air struck his exposed ears as he moved forward. After finishing off hell week, the young editor, Onodera Ritsu is walking home. His shoes clacked against the cold pavement and crunched against the occasional dead orange leaf as he started his slow walk up the slightly icy hill to the apartment building.

"Oh, I have to buy the flowers soon…" He told himself.

Little did he know, there was a certain someone who just came out of the nearby convenience store, trailing behind him. The young brunet is too worn out to even sense the quick steps coming towards him until he hears a familiar deep voice.

"Onodera!"

"Eh? Takano-san?" Turning around, he finds his old high school love right behind him. "I was calling out to you! Didn't you hear me?" His breath turned into puffs as his voice echoed throughout the cold air. In the golden light from the lamppost above them, Masamune looked stunning even though he had his hell week face on, messed up hair and all. His piercing amber eyes seemed to glow in the trick of the light.

The brunet blushed even more as he realized he was staring. "Sorry, I kind of spaced out."

Joining him, they continued trudging up the icy hill and sighed in relief when they made it into the lobby, the warm artificial heat coming at them like a slap in the face. By the time they're in the elevator, the weary brunet starts tilting his body from left to right. At one point he even ends up using Masamune's right arm as support. "That tired aren't you?"

Suddenly holding his hand, the brunet slightly fidgets as he blushed furiously. "T-Takano-san?!"

Smiling at how adorable he was, "We're sleeping together in my apartment tonight. Just so you know." Masamune slightly chuckled as Ritsu's face managed to get an even darker shade of red.

"Hell week just ended! I don't have the energy for-" He stopped when Masamune interrupted him.

"I said we're _sleeping._" He smirked. "What? Did you want to do something other than that? Hmmm?"

Still blushing, he looked away as the doors of the elevator opened on their floor. "S-shut up!"

Obediently, the brunet followed him into his boss's apartment. He momentarily questioned himself 'why?' since he would normally rush into his own apartment given the opportunity but didn't have the energy to do much as Masamune pulled him into his room.

Since the following day was their day off, the two editors slept in for most of the morning. Masamune woke up about an hour earlier but decided to stay in to watch his beloved uke sleep. Little snores filled the light-filled room as Ritsu slept away like a log. However, Masamune tried to hold himself back as he looked over the beautiful creature snuggling into his chest. Both men were without their shirts so it became really hard to hold back as Ritsu nestled his head into Masamune's vulnerable neck. Ritsu's silky, apple-scented brown hair brushed against his naked skin. In Masamune's eyes, he was begging to be devoured.

His breath tickled the larger man's pale collar bone as Ritsu murmured out, "Tsuri…"

Masamune's body instantly jolted at the sound of a female name leaving Ritsu's mouth. "Tsuri?" Resisting the urge to shake the brunet awake to ask who this 'Tsuri' is, Masamune's thoughts are filled with a large amount of assumptions about who this person could be. Needless to say, he exponentially grows jealous when Ritsu murmurs the same name again with a small smile on his face.

He clenched his teeth in frustration.

Feeling the brunet shift, Masamune looks down to see bright emerald eyes slowly opening before blinking twice, he yawns. "Huh? Takano-san?" Looking up, he finally notices the amber eyed man staring down at him, and slightly blushes at the sight of Masamune's well-toned body so close to him. "Y-you're awake?" Wasting no time, Masamune asks the only question on his mind.

"So, who's Tsuri?"

"Eh?" Ritsu looked at him, completely shocked.

Amber eyes shining in the sunlight looked to be in anger as he tried again. "You were calling out to someone named 'Tsuri' in your sleep. So who is she?" The brunet stays silent. "Well?"

Green eyes shifted to the side. "… Nobody important."

Upset at Ritsu's apparent secret, Masamune bolts upright and yells. "Do you honestly expect me to believe that?!"

Slightly flinching at his tone, Ritsu gets up and yells back at him. "Why are you so worked up over that?!" His eyes slightly widen as he chuckled out, "Wait, are you jealous or something?"

"So? What if I am?" By surprise, Masamune grabs Ritsu's bare arms and pushes him back down on the bed, straddling him. Hovering over him, he looks him dead in the eye. "Calling out a woman's name in your sleep, how the hell do you not expect me to get worked up?!"

"Eh?"

"W-wait a minute, Takano-san!" His arms stilled pinned beneath the raven haired man, Ritsu is unable to resist as he's forced into a kiss. "Mmn…!" His mouth slightly parted in the kiss, Masamune managed to find the opening as his tongue slicked past it and started stroking it against the smaller man's tongue. It was a battle for dominance but Ritsu quickly lost himself as his head slightly moved in synch with the strong strokes of Masamune's tongue, putting his mouth into submission. The shuddering brunet blushes furiously as the saliva builds up and a bead of it slips out, trailing to his chin and dips down his naked neck.

Pulling out of the kiss with a small trail of saliva, Masamune looks and slightly smirks at the sight of the brunet's lustful expression. He could feel himself going hard at the sound of Ritsu's panting as the trail of saliva going down his pale neck glistened. "T-Takano-san, w-wait…"

"Ritsu…" He licked his lips. "I can't."

….

* * *

The following gray morning, the brunet walks through the damp and icy streets of Tokyo. It had rained overnight and the cold humidity wafted through Ritsu's nose as his shoes lightly tapped against the slick pavement. The street he was on had a fair amount of people as he continued on in his slow pace. However, he's taking it slow due to certain reasons. Every now and again he has to stop and lean on a nearby wall or fence as he wrapped his arm around his side. His hips were screaming.

_Why the hell did he have to be so rough? He's already big enough as it is…_

Furiously blushing, the brunet banged his head with his fists. "Geh! Why the hell did I think of his…?!" His hands fell to his sides as the nearby scared pedestrians quickly moved away from him. Not caring, he picks up the pace.

Down the puddle filled street, he stopped himself again as he looked at the grim looking sky. "…Tsuri."

He slowly looked down at the sidewalk as a run of images crossed his mind. "…!" He momentarily held a hand to the side of his aching head as he blocked them off. "This again…" Leaning against a nearby lamppost, he weakly told himself, "It's almost that time of year…" Little did he know, he was being followed by a certain amber eyed man who would've stepped in had he not recomposed himself and kept walking.

Walking into a nearby flower shop he greets a familiar part-time cashier. "Ah, Kusama-san." Obviously not able to follow him into the store, Masamune stands outside, hoping to catch the conversation. "Good morning."

"Oh, Onodera-san. It's been a while since I've seen you come in here!" Looking at the nearby calendar, the tall man's deep blue eyes had a flash of realization. "Oh, right. It's that time of year isn't it?"

Looking around the small store, to the brunet it seemed as if all the ready to be sold flowers were bursting with lively color even though it was almost the end of the fall. "Yeah, this place is on the way to where I work so I figured I should stop by. I'm going to be visiting them in a few days so I figured I should order beforehand. I would've stopped by to order yesterday but there were unexpected changes to my plans…"

As if on cue, the brunet's hips momentarily gave out before he put his hands on the counter to keep from completely falling over.

Rushing to his side, the blue eyed managed to grab his shoulders to keep him from hitting the ground. "Onodera-san! Are you alright?!" It took Masamune all he had not to barge into the store and push the oversized cashier away as he helped Ritsu back up to his feet.

"Yes. Sorry if I scared you." A wave of what seemed like recognition went across Nowaki's deep cobalt eyes as he looked him over. "Rough night?"

Recomposing himself, he slightly blushes. "More like a rough morning that went into the night…" From outside, Masamune held back a snort as he looked on.

The giant slightly chuckled. "You still have that look on your face."

"Eh? What look?"

"Well, it's a given since you get her flowers every year. But you still haven't gotten over that Tsuri, haven't you? I've never even met her but it seems pretty obvious."

Masamune's eyes went slightly wide as he saw a rare warm smile on the brunet's face followed by a blush. "Of course. She was very precious to me. Besides, if I don't remember those two, then who will?"

"I guess that's true. Which bouquet do you want to reserve?"

"Let's see…"

…

* * *

"… What the hell is all this?"

Walking into the pink explosion that is Emerald, Ritsu finds a large stack of papers on his desk. All of his fellow editors are already present as he dropped his bag to the floor. Their boss managed to quietly come from behind with a coffee in his hand as he informed Ritsu, "I dropped off some extra work for you. Get it all done by tonight, newbie." After informing him, Masamune nonchalantly went to his desk.

"Hah?! This'll take two days to finish!" Turning around, he exclaims even further as he followed Masamune to his desk. "Hell week just finished and you're lumping all of this onto me?!"

Masamune slams his fist on the desk, his deep voice barreling throughout the office floor. "Can you or can you not get it done?! If you're going to half-ass it then I might as well-"

"I'll get it done!" Needless to say, the weary brunet went back to his desk to start off his nearly impossible job.

Obviously aware of the fact that he was just tricked, Kisa just pitied the prideful brunet. "Poor Ricchan…"

About an hour into his work, Ritsu could feel his cell phone vibrate and went slightly pale at the caller ID. He slightly jolted in his seat as he heard his boss's now ominous voice. "No phone calls in the middle of work, Onodera."

"I know, I know. Just give me a minute." Much to Masamune's annoyance, Ritsu got up and left the office to take the phone call.

"You never learn." Following him to the nearby lobby, Masamune was about to call out to him, "Ono-" but stopped himself when he heard Ritsu start.

"Mother, I'm in the middle of work. I've already told you before; I'm not supposed to be taking personal calls. Oh, you wanted to ask if I was going to visit them again? I am. In a few days actually."

The look on his face shifted to one of annoyance as he exasperated, "Why are you so against that? Did you just call me in the middle of work for that?"

He lifted an eyebrow. "A date? Like, I've told you many times before I never agreed to get married to An-chan. Even An-chan knows that. Can you please stop trying to set up these dates?" Closing his eyes, he pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing wearily.

After what seemed like yelling on the other end, Ritsu curled his fingers. "Don't you think I already know that?!" A flash of what seemed like pain crossed his eyes. "I have to get back to work. Bye." After he hung up, Ritsu put his phone in his pocket and was about to turn to head back to work before he stopped himself.

Emerald eyes slightly widen. "…!" He held a hand to the left side of his head as he murmured out, "Ah, this again…"

"Onodera!" At the shout of his name, Ritsu turned around to expect Masamune full of anger and was thrown off guard when his eyes revealed worry. "Takano-san?"

"Onodera, you-"

Interrupting him in an emotionless tone, "I finished my phone call. I'm getting back to work now. Excuse me." Ritsu walks past him, not making eye contact as he goes back to Emerald.

"…" The moment he gets back to Emerald he continues working on the seemingly impossible stack of papers. Obviously not going to make a scene at work, Masamune goes back to his desk as he repeatedly asks himself what the phone call could've been about.

Looking up from his work, Kisa slightly frowns at the sight of the solemn brunet. "Ricchan, what's wrong?"

"Eh?" Stopping what he was doing, he noticed that the other editors were looking at him in worry. However, he looked away from Masamune as soon as they made eye contact, slightly blushing.

"You have the same look as a kicked puppy."

"A kicked puppy look?" Mino and Hatori nod as they look at the solemn brunet.

The fan girl editors of Sapphire, the BL department, secretly squeal as Kisa inches towards him with open arms. "I have a very strong urge to hug you-" The raven was interrupted as a stapler hit him in the back of the head. "Owww!" Turning around, he saw an angry Masamune holding yet another stapler.

"No hugging the newbie! Get back to work!"

Rubbing the back of his head, Kisa dejectedly turns back to his work. "…Sorry, Ricchan."

"I-it's alright."

Several hours later, the vast majority of the editors have left the floor. Ritsu is still stuck with a large amount of work but he's made good progress. About half of the stack of papers, completely looked over, sat on the floor as he continued to make corrections on the other half. "What's taking you so long?" Coming into Emerald, Masamune shows he's ready to leave as he held his bag in his hand and wore his usual black jacket.

Narrowing his green eyes in anger from the obvious reason, Ritsu barks out, "You know why! Just leave, I'm going to finish up over here." Looking back down, he continues his work. By surprise, Masamune dropped his bag on the floor and took the nearby chair, wheeling himself next to the brunet.

He props his arm on the desk, supporting his chin as he looked down at Ritsu's work. "I'll leave if you tell me who this Tsuri is."

He slightly flinched as Ritsu unexpectedly slammed his fist down on the table in frustration. "Why are you so hung up on that?!" He went wide eyed as he found that the look in the brunet's eyes were one of utter fury. "She's not someone you have to worry about!"

Trying to calm him down, Masamune grabs his shoulders as he looks him in the eye. "Are you an idiot? It's because I love you."

Snapping out of his momentary rage, Ritsu's slit eyes widen up again as a blush crossed his face. "W-well it's not any of your business." Uncurling his fist, the brunet turns away from Masamune and solemnly goes back to his work. "Sorry, I really don't want to talk about it."

"Then will you tell me what your old lady called you about? Kisa was right; when you came back in the office you had the same look as a kicked puppy."

"…" Needless to say, the same pitiful look formed on the brunet's face.

He wrapped an around the shorter man's lithe waist. "Then it looks like I'm staying here with you. All. Night. Long."

"Don't try anything funny!"

About half an hour into his work, Masamune starts. "Is your body alright? I was kind of rough with you…"

Slightly blushing at the genuinely worried tone of Masamune's voice, the brunet lets his bangs cover his eyes as he fidgeted with his pen. "Y-yes. I can manage."

Pulling him close, Masamune whispers into the brunet's ear. His body reverberates with each word from Masamune as Ritsu starts to blush even more. "Are you sure? You were moaning so much when I kept thrusting so deep into you. You were stuck in bed so long after that I wondered if you could resist if I spread your legs apart and-"

"Takano-san!"

He smugly smirked at his red faced reaction. "Well it's true."

…

* * *

Flying over the illuminated sky of Tokyo, a young brunette with bright wings soars throughout the frigid air. Her dark mailman uniform makes for the perfect camouflage for flying throughout the night even though the wings managed to stand out. Her sharp green eyes, with rings of gold around their pupils had an eerie shine as she looked below. Short, wavy brown hair doesn't have a single hair out of place when she lands on the tip of the luminous Tokyo Tower.

Her long cape flapping about, she asks aloud, "How far away is he, Yara?"

The wings and head jewelry hanging in the center of her forehead glow pale green before turning into a tall staff about twice the petite girl's height, resting in the girl's small hand. "He's about a few miles away. Hey, Tsuri aren't you excited? You get to finally meet him again after all this time! I bet he'll be crying like a baby when he sees you!"

Her sharp jewel-like eyes slightly narrowed. "…Probably. He's a grown man though, will he even recognize me? He's most likely moved on…"

"There's no way he'll forget you."

Unconsciously, she rests her pale hand on her messenger bag. "Besides, I only have to give him her letter. It's been on hold all this time it probably doesn't matter as much to him at this point. What was she even thinking asking to put it on hold?"

"But… you fought so hard to get this area. I thought you had every intention of reuniting and catching up."

"I just had that odd feeling that he's going to do something stupid soon." Tsuri put on a frown as she looked at the far off horizon. To her, the lights of the city reminded her of overwhelmingly bright fireflies resting in a field. "I'll never forgive myself if he's going to wind up doing _that._"

"But that would mean he still remembers you two. Doesn't that make you a little happy?"

"Not if it gets him killed, Yara."

Transforming back into the brightly feathered wings and pale green head jewelry, the little girl jumped off the tower and soared into the night.

* * *

**A/N: Please Review!**


	2. Awkward Reunion

**A/N: Huzzah! I finished chapter two! If you look at the cover photo, you can see my drawing of Tsuri and Yara. Took me forever to fix up the lines because my $40 scanner pretty much screwed over the quality and my tablet was getting glitchy as I was fixing them. щ(ಠ****益****ಠ****щ) **

**But I managed to fix them up for the most part and colored them in with gimp. **

**Tsuri's red shawl is my own creation, it's not part of her uniform, just so you know. I kinda liked how Chiaki from Shigofumi carried a scarf around with her so I wound up making something for Tsuri. **

**I'm planning to upload it to my deviantart as well. I actually haven't uploaded anything there in a while...**

**Feel free to critique it if you want!**

**This chapter is actually two parts. It actually got so long I had to cut it in half...**

**Sorry for any errors you may see and disapprove of...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sekaiichi Hatsukoi but I do own Tsuri and Yara.**

* * *

Late into the night, a little girl with bright wings elegantly lands on top of a car in a parking lot nearby Marukawa Shoten's new building. Her pastel green head jewelry and white wings turn into a tall staff before she made way for the building. Taking a deep breath and walking into the building's lobby, she finds that she's not the only presence.

Still wearing his glasses, Masamune took a double take at the sight of an oddly clothed little girl, no more than eight years old walking into the lobby with a staff. Slightly startled by her gold ringed green eyes, he recomposes himself. "Oi, little girl. Isn't it a little late for you to be out here cosplaying? Aren't your parents worried?"

"Hmmm?" Heterochromic eyes looked Masamune over. She cocked her head to the side and clicked her tongue. "Tsk. Useless."

Blinking twice, he immediately turns to her. "What did you just call me?!" He yells out. Not used to dealing with kids, Masamune could only respond as if he were talking to someone his own age.

Tsuri sighed as she shifted her eerie eyes to the right. "Just had that feeling."

He took a step towards her. As if he were a parent, he scolded her saying, "Don't be rude to strangers!" In the midst of his attempt, Masamune picked up a familiar scent of apples that seemed to emanate from the strange little girl.

Tsuri rolled her eyes. "Who cares? They're strangers." She said as she shrugged her thin shoulders, a small smile forming on her lips. She held back a chuckle as the man scowled and crossed his arms.

"Cheeky brat." Masamune muttered.

She sighed before looking up at Yara. "Yara, is he still in this building?"

"He's boarding the elevator." A chirpy voice called out.

He stared wide eyed before pointing at Yara. "… Did that stick just talk?"

Her gem furiously blinking as she spoke, "How rude! I'm not a stick! I'm a staff!" Tsuri slightly tugged Yara down to calm her down. He would've said something about her slight levitation but Tsuri managed to cut him off.

An eerily innocent smile crossed her pink lips. "Yara, calm down. There's a reason why he has to wear glasses. They must be defective though." She narrowed her sharp eyes as she snickered. "Or he's just that dense." In response, another scowl appeared on the man's long face.

"You little…"

Everybody heard a ring from the elevator.

"…" Tsuri unexpectedly clenched her teeth as she frantically said, "…I can't do it!" She yelled out a sequence of numbers before Yara's gem glowed, both of them vanishing before Masamune's eyes. Instantly looking around the lobby, Masamune stepped forward to where the girl had stood but found nothing.

"…She disappeared?"

Coming out of the elevator in his usual winter attire, a brown coat and white scarf, Ritsu's tired eyes slightly widen in surprise as he spots Masamune in the lobby. "Takano-san? I told you that you didn't have to wait for me." Hearing his voice, Masamune immediately put the strange duo to the back of his mind as he turned around.

Walking over to where he is, Masamune pulls out his keys as he informs the brunet, "I decided that I'm going to drive us home today. Don't even think about escaping. From what I can tell your hips are still… out of commission." Even though he slightly smirked, there was a flash of pain in his eyes as he realized that the rough taking of his subordinate had done more damage than he thought.

The brunet blushed at his choice of words as he looked at the floor. "Whose fault is that?"

Masamune patted his apple scented head, smiling. "Which is why I'm taking responsibility." He held back a chuckle. "Saying it like that sounds like I got you preg-"

Cutting him off, Ritsu slapped his hand away. "Takano-san!"

"Well I do like the idea of you carrying my children. If that ever happened, I'd gladly take responsibility."

"…" Not knowing what to say, Ritsu just blushes furiously. He keeps his head down as they walk towards the front door, unconsciously rubbing his stomach. A smile graced Masamune's lips when he noticed this.

As soon as they left, Yara's voice echoed throughout the empty lobby. "Why did you chicken out?! He was right there!" Reappearing, Yara slips out of Tsuri's small hand as she levitates in front of her.

Tsuri's mouth slightly hung open as the adults' conversation replayed in her mind. "He… he really has grown up." A rare blush crosses her face as she holds her hands to her small cheeks. "Talking about having kids…"

Clicking the floor with her tip, Yara yells, "Snap out of it, Tsuri! Remember the reason you came here!"

Snapping out of it, the brunette slaps her cheeks. "R-right!"

Grabbing Yara, Tsuri bolts out of the door. The cold slap in the face whisks past her, slightly lifting up her wavy locks as she momentarily looked around for the two men. Knowing that the two men have most likely left, Tsuri yells out a set of numbers. In turn, Yara turns into luminous wings and pale green head jewelry, allowing Tsuri to fly off.

* * *

….

Landing at the apartment complex, the duo swiftly board the elevator to the twelfth floor before they make it to Ritsu's front door. "So this is where he lives." She takes a deep breath before she goes forward.

Ringing the doorbell, it comes off as a surprise when the door opens to reveal Masamune. This time with his glasses off, he scowls when he sees the two in front of him. "You again." Clad in a black long sleeve shirt and blue jeans, Masamune crosses his arms as he glares at her.

A mischievous smirk graced Tsuri's lips as she batted her long eyelashes. "The pleasure is all mine."

"Huh? What's wrong Takano-san?" Coming by his side, wearing a white button-up shirt and brown pants, Ritsu raises an eyebrow when he sees Tsuri at the door. "A child?" Seeing him, Masamune lifted an eyebrow when he saw the little girl fidgeting with an envelope.

Blushing, she stutters out, "Y-you're Onodera Ritsu, correct?"

"Ah, yes. That's me."

"I came to deliver a letter." Already having the letter in her hand, Tsuri stretches her arm out towards him, hiding her face beneath the rim of her large hat. However, Ritsu didn't take it as he tilted his head in confusion.

"A letter? I haven't been expecting one."

Exasperated, Masamune pinches the bridge of his nose. "Chibi, aren't you a little young to be working as a mail courier?" The man was obviously getting on his last nerve as he looked over the strange girl.

Slipping out of her awkwardness, Tsuri shifts her voice to a professional tone. "There's no age requirement for delivering the Shigofumi."

They both raised an eyebrow. "Shigofumi?"

"A letter from the world of the departed. In one word, Shigofumi. "

"It's the final words of the person who died addressed to you." Looking down at the letter, she slightly furrows her brow. "Well, it's been put on hold for a long amount of time, but it was at the sender's request. Though I do apologize in her place for the extended period of time."

The furrow in Masamune's brow deepens. "Little girl, you should stop playing these games. Is this part of your cosplay? Last time I checked, dead people can't write letters."

"Onodera?" Not saying anything, the brunet steps forward and lifts the large hat off Tsuri's head, showing her hair wavy cinnamon locks parted in the middle.

Stepping forward to get it back, "Don't just take my hat!" She reaches for it but is too short. Tsuri furiously tries to jump for it but Ritsu ends up keeping it over his head, impossible to reach. All Masamune did was snicker at the sight until he heard the brunet speak.

Ritsu blinked twice as he looked her over. "Is it… is it really you?"

She stops and plops her arms to the side. "…" Not able to look him in the eye, Tsuri looks away.

"See?! I was right!" Ritsu didn't react to Yara's voice as he stared at the little brown haired girl before him.

"You haven't aged a day…" Tears start pooling at his emerald eyes. He fell to his knees and swiftly put his arms around her thin shoulders. "I'm not dreaming, am I?" Sharp heterochromic eyes slightly widen as Tsuri felt her shoulder become slightly wet.

By reflex, she shouts out a sequence of numbers before Yara glows green. The contours of Ritsu's body follows suit as he slouches to the side. "Onodera?"

"Onodera?!" He hits the floor with a thud. "Oi!" Rushing to his side, Masamune holds him in his arms. The brunet's tears trailed down his cheeks as they led to his chin, dripping off down his exposed neck. His mouth lay parted as Masamune tries to awaken him.

Looking at the unconscious brunet, Yara yells at Tsuri. "Why did you make me knock him out?! You can't give him the letter if he's unconscious!" In frustration, she repeatedly clicks the floor with her tip.

Tsuri fiddles with the sides of her robe as she looked down at the floor. "I know. I just panicked…"

"Onodera!" Masamune called out as he shook Ritsu's shoulders, not responding.

Recomposing herself as she looked at the two men, "Well, you were right. He did cry." She shrugged and slightly chuckled. "Looks like the crybaby part of him is still there even after all this time."

Yara just sighs at the sight in front of her. "So much for a touching reunion."

Finally remembering Tsuri and Yara's presence, Masamune asks, "What did you do to him?"

"I put him to sleep." Tsuri said with a straight face.

Noticing the man's worry from Tsuri's poor choice of words, Yara assures him. "Don't worry! She didn't mean it that way. He'll only be asleep for a little while." After moving Ritsu's unconscious form to the living room's couch, Yara continues. "You should apologize when he wakes up."

Tsuri puffs up her cheeks before looking at the floor, childishly muttering, "… Don't wanna."

"You should!"

Tsuri clicked her tongue as she crossed her skinny arms. "You're just like a bickering mother, Yara."

"Sheesh, why are humans so abnormal?"

"You should be asking yourself that, talking stick." Unable to help herself, Tsuri started snickering. Angry, Yara floated up to Masamune's height, "My name is Yara!" She yelled.

"Tsu- oh, the next person on the route is coming up on the elevator."

Snapping out of her fit of laughter, Tsuri shrugged as she looked at Ritsu's sleeping form. "Well, it can't be helped. I might as well deliver the next one while he's knocked out." Taking the hat off the table, Tsuri grabs Yara and heads out of the living room, her footsteps softly padding away.

Masamune furrowed his eyebrows as the sound of the front door opened. "What the hell is she talking about?" Following her out of the apartment, Masamune stands at the door as he watches an old, tired looking woman coming off the elevator. Recognizing her, he realizes that she's a fellow tenant that usually had a cheerful disposition so seeing her weak eyes came off as a shock.

Tsuri steps forward. "You're Kimura Shoudou's mother, correct?"

A shadow cast over the woman's red rimmed eyes. "…Ah, yes."

"Here's a letter for you."

"A letter?" Slightly confused, she takes the letter off Tsuri's hand and slowly opens it. Reading the lengthy letter, the woman's eyes widen in surprise as she gasps.

"…!" The elderly woman holds a hand to her lips as tears pool at her tired eyes and stream down her face. Shou-chan… he…" She slightly slouches forward as she hiccups. "Thank you… thank you so much."

By surprise, she gave a genuine smile and slightly bowed, chocolate locks tickling the sides of her face. "It was my pleasure. Have a nice evening."

As soon as she goes back to her own apartment, Masamune steps out to approach Tsuri. "… What was that?"

Looking down the hallway where the woman went, Tsuri gave a far-away look as she told, "Her son passed away five days ago. She was the person he chose to send his letter to." She tucked a curl behind her ear before gently rubbing the side of her head, murmuring to herself, "Ah, this again…"

Not hearing her murmur, he asks, "Are you serious?"

"Of course!" Yara floated up to Masamune's tall height. "We have been this whole time. Are you that stubborn to believe us?"

"Of course." Masamune blankly said.

Tsuri sighed. "They're letters of the departed. They're the people's last chance to say what they couldn't when they were still alive. That makes them all the more valuable to the recipient." Right after she told him, she walked back into Ritsu's apartment. She frowned as she noticed that Ritsu was still knocked out. "He's still knocked out…" However her nose twitched as Masamune neared.

"Eh? This scent…"

"Oi! What are you doing?" Grabbing his black sleeved arm, Tsuri started sniffing at it. He was about to yell at her to get her hands off until she started.

She narrowed her moist eyes. "Takano Masamune." He slightly flinched at the mention of his name as she continued, looking up at him. "You're his lover, aren't you? Your scents are all mixed up." He flinched even more as the tone of her voice wasn't one of disgust but more of an innocent, straightforward questioning one.

"Hmmm? Smells like you two went at it like bunnies!" Yara chirped as she floated up to Masamune's eye level. "No wonder your skin is so shiny!"

Masamune blinked twice at the realization. "You don't care that we're men?"

Tsuri tilted her head as she looked up at him. "Why should we? If it's love then something like that doesn't matter."

"…Just who are you? Even Onodera seems to know who you are. How do you even know my name?"

Scoffing, Tsuri crossed her arms as she looked to the side. "Not telling." His response was a glare that went unnoticed as Tsuri walked toward and kneeled next to Ritsu. "Just how tired is he? He should've woken up by now."

Tsuri's eyes immediately softened as she gently patted the brunet on the head. "Ritsu…" She barely whispered. Looking him over, she slightly frowns at the sight of his slightly pale skin.

His eyebrows slightly twitched as he turned towards Tsuri, not waking up. He lightly snuggled his head towards Tsuri's small hand. "Nn… oneesama." He softly murmured, a smile gracing his lips.

"…!" She immediately withdrew her hand as she stepped back.

Masamune lifted an eyebrow. "Oneesama? He had a sister?"

"He didn't tell you?" Yara asked, floating beside Tsuri.

"He told me he was an only child." The amber eyed crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at the sleeping brunet. He distinctly recalled the brunet saying he was an only child so he couldn't understand why Ritsu was dreaming about a sister.

Since her back was turned, Masamune didn't notice the flash of pain that went across Tsuri's eyes. "… It looks like he'll be asleep for the rest of the night." Walking to Ritsu's bookshelf, she slightly blushes in wonder as she looks up. "So many books…"

Masamune narrowed his eyes. "What do you think you're doing?" He watched in confusion as Tsuri crouched down and tilted her head as she looked at the titles.

Starting off with the bottom row, Tsuri's delicate fingers glide across the bindings as she reads the titles on them. "Until my job is done, I'm not leaving him." A smile crossed her face as she noticed that some of the books belonged to her favorite authors. "Reading through some of these will pass the time until he wakes up."

"Shouldn't you be at home in bed? Not reading in a stranger's apartment in the middle of the night?" Masamune pointed to Tsuri's messenger bag. "Can't you just leave that letter here?"

"Not until he takes it." Yara told him, levitating next to Ritsu. "That's one of the rules." The tall man rolled his eyes at the mention of 'rules'.

Masamune pulls out his phone and walks up to Tsuri. "Give me your parents' number and let me call them to pick you up."

Taking out a book, she flips through it. Her wise eyes not leaving the turning pages as she spoke, "Are you in such a hurry to take advantage of him while he's unconscious?" Looking up, she gave a daring smile. "Hmmm?"

Crouching down to her level, Masamune forces a smile as he tells her, "You know, I'm this close to throwing you out along with the talking stick."

"I'm a staff! I know you're human but how dense can you be?!"

She puts the book back on the shelf. "Apparently pretty dense if he thinks he can get a man pregnant." Taking out a stack of books, Tsuri ushered them over to the low table.

Remembering the conversation he had with Ritsu back in the lobby, Masamune raised an eyebrow. "You heard us?"

"Of course, we were invisible, not deaf." Blinking twice in surprise, Masamune momentarily stared at the two before he sighed.

Walking over to the table, Masamune sits on the hardwood floor as he props his elbow on the table, supporting his firm chin. "A girl your age knows where babies come from?" He asked as he looked over the young girl reading the back of one of Ritsu's books.

Not looking up, she answered, "Yep. But it looks like a man your age doesn't." Smirking as she knew that the tall man would definitely get riled up.

She was right. "You-" He was interrupted when Tsuri immediately bolted up, her long cape momentarily flapping. Running back to the wooden bookcase, she squealed. "Oh my gosh! He has English books! Why didn't I notice this?" Taking out another stack, she goes to put them on the table. Spreading out the pile, Tsuri's sparkly gaze washes over the books as she genuinely smiles. "He has very good taste, dare I say."

Looking over the foreign titles, Masamune slightly tilted his head in surprise. "I didn't know he read English books." He stopped himself when he realized that Tsuri was reading one of them. "You can read English?"

"We just transferred from England."

"Transferred? You're a foreigner?" Looking her over, he realizes that it explains the coloring of her eyes and hair.

Tsuri lightly shook her head as she continued to read. "Nope. I was born here but I left the country when I was older. I'm part Japanese."

Masamune held a frown at the thought of a young child doing so much moving between countries. "You're so young though."

"Pfft." Snickering, Tsuri held a hand to her mouth as Yara started giggling.

He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"It's nothing." Calming down, Tsuri went back to her book as Masamune just stared at them in confusion.

Sighing at the realization that the odd duo is going to be sticking around, Masamune stood up and made for the door. "I'm going to my apartment to grab a few things. Don't try anything funny."

The moment they heard the front door click shut, the wavy haired girl immediately stood up with a mischievous glint in her rare eyes. "Tsuri…"

Ignoring Yara's warning, Tsuri made way for the kitchen. She did a double take when she opened the brunet's refrigerator to reveal, "Energy drinks and water?" She dodged her head up and low to see if there were anything else beside the beverages on the barred shelves but only found a few wrapped up packages of fish. "How can he live off this?"

Shaking her head, "I bet if mom saw this she would cry…"

Walking back into the apartment with some paperwork, Masamune lifted an eyebrow as he saw Tsuri going through Ritsu's bag. "What are you doing going through his stuff?" Ignoring him, she manages to pull out a couple volumes of shoujo manga.

Tsuri's gold flecked eyes momentarily sparkle at the feel of more books. "Is this manga?" Holding one volume over her head, Tsuri curiously twists and turns it around as if it were a foreign object. "I've heard about it, it's basically stories being shown through a sequence of illustrations. It's apparently a large industry in Japan from what I've heard." Masamune gave her the, '_Did you live under a rock?_' look.

Flipping open the first page, Tsuri snickers to herself, "Pfft. Ritsu can draw better than this."

Reading through a several number of pages, Tsuri furrows her brow as she goes on. "… Why do these love stories seem so unrealistic? Even the background seems off. The mixture of sparkles, the main character's hair shifting in tones, and the nonexistent wind blowing the characters' hair around even though they're indoors completely baffles me. Perhaps it's for the sake of appealing to the audience it's meant for? To go to that extent is so weird."

By the time she puts all of his books back, Yara had already set herself in the corner and goes on stand-by mode. Masamune has already nodded off so Tsuri finds it as a good opportunity for more exploring.

"So this is his room." Looking around, the little brunette spots that there's not much in the room besides the bed, bureau, and a nightstand. She tilts her head in confusion as she looks at the deep blue sheets of the bed that are overrun with a large pile of neatly folded clothing.

"Why are there so many clothes on his bed? Shouldn't they be in a closet?"

"…" She slightly fidgets before she jumps on the surprisingly soft bed, slightly bouncing back up as some of the clothes are displaced. She slightly rolls from left to right as she presses the cool pillow to her face. Taking a large sniff, she jumps back off the bed, completely red in the face.

"I saw that." Her wavy chocolate hair slightly out of place, she looks up at direction of the voice to find Masamune standing at the doorway, smirking. "…!"

Looking away, she blushed as she twirled one of her cinnamon locks. "I-I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Do you have a crush on him or something, chibi?"

The blush disappears from her face as she looked up and frankly asked, "How stupid are you?"

The smirk disappears as he stomped forward. "You little…"

Spotting something in the corner of her eye, she crouches over and looks under the bed. "A box?" Lying against the floor, Tsuri steadily reached for a black and silver box underneath the brunet's bed. Masamune lifted a black eyebrow when he realized that even though he helped to clean out his subordinate's apartment, he had never seen this box.

"Oh, you two are in here. He's about to wake up soon." Hearing Yara's voice, Masamune immediately turned towards the doorway. "Tsuri? What's wrong?"

Hearing the familiar name, Masamune turns to Tsuri in surprise. "Tsuri?"

Lifting open the hinged cover, the little brunette gasps as she pulls a rabbit doll with blood stains all over the right side of its small body. "This rabbit…" A few tears sprung to her jewel-like eyes. "He kept it…" Masamune lifted an eyebrow when her body immediately jolted and she put a hand to the side of her head. "…!"

She fell to the side with a thud.

"Oi!"

"Tsuri?!"

* * *

…

_It lightly snowed down on the small town. Trees and foliage lined the small streets of the dark village. The smell of the crisp night air wafted throughout the streets of the town. All the lights of the houses were already off with the exception of the lampposts. The night sky eerily glittered with stars that all seemed to stare at the village below. _

_A cold breeze slowly went by, slightly lifting up a small brunette's locks._

_Lying in the middle of a gray street, she was on her side. Flecks of snow landed on the brunette's small cheek as she lay on the cold pavement. Melting away, they almost seemed like tears as they streamed down her pale face. Gold flecked eyes were dimming as the little girl was losing the feeling in her body._

_"So heavy… so cold…" She weakly whispered._

_ Finally noticing the puddle of cooling blood beneath her, she slightly twiddles her fingers in the sticky redness. "Blood?" By her side, she had a white rabbit doll facing her, soaking up her blood. Barely able to move, she could only grab then end of its tube-like arm between her small fingers. _

_Her little ears momentarily twitched at the sound of a familiar voice._

_"Onee…sama? Oneesama?! Oneesama!" With some feeling still in her body, she could tell she was being held in small arms._

_ Through the blotches of her vision, she could make out the figure looming over her. "Rit… su?" A little boy with large emerald eyes worriedly looked over her as she struggled to reach her hand up to him._

_A heavy set of footsteps approached followed by a click._

_She could barely speak. "Run…"_

_…_

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**A/N: So, the truth is revealed about Tsuri, for the most part. I hope you guys like her character, even though she loves to push Takano's buttons! :D**

**Please Review!**


	3. Surprise, Surprise

**A/N: I know I said in the previous chapter that I was splitting it up into two because it was too big but the second half was still too big! So I decided to cut it up even more. The next chapter is about 4000 words so it'll make up for the shortness of this one.**

**I also want to thank everybody who left those lovely reviews! It really means a lot! :')**

**Enjoy!**

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Back in the apartment, Masamune had already put away the clean clothes his subordinate had left out and is now watching over Tsuri. When she had collapsed, he decided to put her on Ritsu's bed since the couch was already occupied. He already took off her hat, undid her cape and scarf-like shawl since they seemed to be in the way so he had the floating staff hang onto them.

He had momentarily looked in the box to see two weathered, yellow and green sketchbooks along with what seemed like a photo album. As much as he had wanted to go through them, Masamune didn't want to invade his lover's privacy, given that there had to be reason these were all tucked away. He sighed at the realization that this would be a good opportunity to learn more about Ritsu if he went through his stuff but it would cause some problems if he was found out. So he just settled for leaving it at his side.

Sitting in front of the bed, he crossed his arms as he looked at the sleeping brunette. "Why did she just collapse like that?" His gaze travels to the blood-stained rabbit she clutched in her arms. "She won't even let go of that rabbit."

It really bewildered Masamune to see the girl like this. He hadn't even known her for more than a few hours but she already gave off the disposition of someone who was strong willed, wise, and sharp tongued. Seeing her cuddling against a rabbit doll, however bloody, made her look all the innocent and vulnerable.

He slightly shuddered.

Floating beside him, Yara worriedly says, "I don't know! This never happened before! Tsuri…"

Masamune narrowed his eyes. "Tsuri, huh?"

Recalling a certain event, the man almost face palmed at the fact that he took Ritsu under the assumption he was hung up on an old girlfriend or something similar. He slightly shook his head at the realization that he was jealous of an eight year old who was already aware and approved of their relationship. "God…"

The two immediately jolt when they hear something moving in the other room. "Ugh… Takano-san? You're in here?" Turning around, he finds Ritsu groggily walking into the room. Masamune calms down for a moment until he notices that Ritsu is slightly swooning.

He was about to fall over until Masamune bolted up and caught him by the shoulders. "Onodera! Are you alright?" His head slightly bobbed before resting on Masamune's broad chest.

Ritsu held a hand to his head as he recomposed himself, frowning at the sight of Masamune's worried expression but blushed at their closeness. "Yeah, sorry if I worried you. I guess I was more tired than I thought." He blinked twice as he noticed Tsuri's figure lying on his bed. "Huh? What happened to her?" He did a double take when he noticed the black box out and Tsuri clutching onto the bloody rabbit.

"Long story short, she went through your stuff and passed out when she found that rabbit." Masamune shrugged his broad shoulders. "You were already on the couch so I put her on your bed. Of course I took the liberty of putting away your clothes." The brunet slightly flinched at the mention of his clothes.

Noticing it, the tall man sighed as he looked at the bloody rabbit. "I never thought you'd have a stuffed animal, much less one with blood stains on it."

"…" Ritsu still said nothing as Masamune continued. "Do you know who this girl is? It seemed like you knew her when you hugged her." Masamune had previously asked Yara who Tsuri was but denied to reveal anything to him, still holding a grudge from him calling her a stick.

A shadow cast over Ritsu's face as he looked to the side. "… I'm not so sure myself. I just mistook her for someone else."

"Someone else? Who?"

Ritsu crossed his arms as he looked at Tsuri. "Remember that person you asked me about? Tsuri?"

Masamune immediately looked at the brunette. "You thought she was her? Just who was she?"

Slightly chuckling at the thought of his most likely reaction, Ritsu gave an awkward smile. "She was my older sister. We were twins." Masamune blinked twice as his mouth slightly hung open.

He looked back at the sleeping brunette. "You… had a twin sister?" Ritsu nodded as he walked over to the bed, sitting next to Tsuri as she slept.

A light blush crossed his cheeks as he warmly smiled at Tsuri's sleeping form. "This girl seems so much like her. She even held that rabbit the same way when she slept."

Masamune crossed his arms as he looked at Ritsu. "You told me you were an only child."

The smile disappeared from his small face. "I am now." His gaze went down to his lap as he confessed, "We were around the same age as this girl when she died. That rabbit used to belong to her. It's one of the few things I have left of her."

"…! Then the blood stains…"

"…" Knowing the question that was implied, the solemn brunet just nodded.

Walking over and sitting next to the shorter man, Masamune grimaces at the sight of the rabbit as he turned to Ritsu. "What the hell happened to her?"

A flash of bloody images crossed Ritsu's mind. Feeling a wave of nausea come on, the brunet holds a hand to his aching head as he shook it. "Sorry, I don't want to talk about it…"

Frowning, Masamune wrapped his arm around his smaller frame. "Onodera…" By instinct, Ritsu leans over onto Masamune as he looked at Tsuri. "It's alright, I won't press you for it." Masamune's warm hand on his shoulder, Ritsu rested his own on top of it.

Ritsu pouted. "… It's pathetic isn't? I should be over it by now."

Surprised, Masamune lifted up Ritsu's dainty chin, warmly looking him in the eye. "How's that pathetic?" Blushing from their closeness, Ritsu is unable to look away from Masamune's amber eyes until the two are interrupted by a third voice.

"He's right!" Hearing her, they both turned to Yara and Ritsu went wide eyed when he realized where the voice came from.

"… Did that staff just talk?" Noticing that Yara was bobbing up and down, Ritsu tilted his head as his gaze dropped to the floor, seeing that her tip wasn't making contact. "Floating?"

"Yes, I did." Yara gestures to Masamune. "See? Somebody did get it!"

Masamune smirked at the staff. "I'm still calling you a talking stick."

"Seriously?"

"Technically, you are a stick." Masamune chuckled as he shrugged. "So I'm not wrong."

Upset, Yara clicks the floor with her tip. "Can humans be this infuriating?!"

Thinking back on his life experiences, Masamune immediately said, "You'd be surprised."

Feeling out of the loop, Ritsu taps Masamune on the shoulder. "…Did I miss something?"

Masamune looked at Yara before turning back to the brunet. "Not really." Her immediate reaction was a cry of anger followed by repeatedly tapping the floor with her tip. "…"

Noticing how she hasn't stopped tapping the floor, Masamune nonchalantly pointed out, "Careful stick, you break it, you buy it."

"…!" She stopped. She let out another cry of anger as the raven haired man kept snickering. Not knowing what to say, Ritsu just shook his head in disbelief.

_Who'd have thought? You finally managed to piss off an object…_

Tsuri started shifting. "Mmhm…" Analogous eyes slowly blinked open. "When did I….? My head…" She slightly shook her head, rubbing her temple with one hand as she slowly sat upright, unaware of the rabbit she's clutching in her arm.

"Tsuri! You're awake! Are you alright?"

Frowning at the worried tone in Yara's voice, Tsuri lightly nods her head. "Yes, I'm alright. I'm sorry if I scared you."

Ritsu blinked twice. "Tsuri?"

"Oh, you're awake as well." Her seriousness completely disappeared when she noticed the stuffed rabbit in her hold. "Eh?! I'm sorry I went through your stuff and took your rabbit without permission!" Completely red-faced, fidgety Tsuri motioned to give the rabbit back to Ritsu.

Clicking the floor with the bottom of her tip, Yara floats over and pressures her on. "And?"

Puffing up her cheeks, her rare eyes shift to the side. "… I'm sorry I put you to sleep." Both men held back a chuckle when they noticed Tsuri shifting the arms of the bunny up and down like a puppet.

Taking the rabbit, Ritsu warmly rubbed its fleecy cheek as he looked it over sitting in his lap. "It's alright you-" Ritsu stopped himself as he looked back up at her. "Eh? You knocked me out?"

Tsuri twiddled her thumbs before motioning towards her messenger bag nearby. "… Kind of. Sorry for the intrusion. Here's your letter."

Taking the letter, he kindly looked her in the eye. "Your name is Tsuri?"

"…! Ah, yes. I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself."

Ritsu slightly nodded before he flashed back to the hug he gave her. "I also wanted to apologize for hugging you like that. I must've scared you." A smile of nostalgia crossed his face as he looked her over. "You looked just like someone I knew. You even have the same name as her."

"N-no, it was alright!" Masamune couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of the young girl being so uncharacteristically awkward. Catching onto him, Tsuri momentarily glared at the raven haired man as she crossed her arms as she puffed up her pink cheeks.

Slightly smiling, Ritsu gently flips open the envelope's flap before pulling out a bronze, apple shaped locket, lined with dried blood across the chain and over the pendant. "Eh? This locket…" Taking note of the shapes of cogs indented on the weathered locket's slightly scratched surface, both sets of green eyes slightly widen in shock.

Noticing something else in the envelope, Ritsu tightly holds the locket in the palm of his hand as he goes to pull out the other content of the envelope.

Taking out the aged letter from the pure white envelope, the brunet reads through it before he starts trembling. By the time he's done, he stares at the letter in shock. He slightly parted his small mouth as streams of water immediately escape the corners of his moist eyes. "What?" His voice shook as the tears collected at the bottom of his chin, falling to the slightly yellowed page and the top of the rabbit's weathered head. "I-I never thought…"

His quivering shoulders sunk as he lowered his head. Dropping the locket and letter in his lap, and holds his hands to his mouth and hunches over as he fights back a sob. He clenched his eyes shut as his long eyelashes glistened with tears before muffling out,

"T-thank you so much…"

Surprised by his reaction, Tsuri could only nod as she slowly made for Yara, who held on to her articles of clothing. "Onodera…" Feeling a pang in his chest, Masamune pulled the crying brunet into his chest before gently patting him on the head.

As much she wanted to stay to comfort the brunet, Tsuri put on her hat as she slightly bowed. "… Excuse me." Grabbing Yara, Tsuri made way for the door. "We'll be leaving now."

"W-wait!" In haste, Ritsu grabbed Tsuri's thin wrist.

"…?!" The bodies of Ritsu and Tsuri momentarily glowed green before everything was consumed by a bright light.

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**A/N: So that's the end of this shortie. The next chapter will be up in about a week. I kind of want to space out my updates.**

**Please Review!**

**P.S: For the people who are reading my other fic (Changing Fate: Their PenguinDrum), don't worry! I haven't dropped it, and the next chapter should be up in a few days. I'm still working out the kinks on the chapter. So don't worry!**


	4. Time's Scar

**A/N: So here's my next chapter! It's a follow up of the previous one. Just to let you know, the elements of the supernatural from Shigofumi will be a little bit different in my fanfic.**

**Excuse my possible grammar mistakes and enjoy!**

**P.S. There's an insert song used in the middle of this fic. If you want to know the song the characters listened to (which is beautiful) look up "Time's Scar" on youtube. It's the Chrono Cross opening. If any of you know Chrono Cross (that old playstation one game) then I love you! **

**I know it's kind of weird use a game opening song, but it's one of the most memorable.**

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_When was the start of all this?_

_When did the cogs of fate begin to turn?_

_Perhaps it is impossible to grasp that answer now,_

_From deep within the flow of time..._

_But, for a certainty, back then,_

_We loved so many, yet hated so much,_

_We hurt others and were hurt ourselves..._

_Yet even then, we ran like the wind,_

_Whilst our laughter echoed,_

_Under cerulean skies..._

_ -Chrono Cross_

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"Ugh… my head." Clutching his head, the brunet looks around to find that he's not in his apartment anymore. He recalls grabbing the little girl as she was about to leave the room before being blinded by some kind of strange light.

Looking around, he finds himself to be in some sort of field with tall green grass up to his knees. The familiar smell of the wet grass wafted through his nose as he looked towards the vacantly cloudy horizon. Looking down, he finally realized that he's on top of Masamune but grows worried when he realizes he's knocked out.

Too worried to blush about their position, Ritsu grabs Masamune's broad shoulders, moderately shaking him. "Takano-san? Takano-san?!" The brunet becomes relieved when he sees amber eyes blinking open.

His voice came out slightly hoarse. "Ono…dera?" He slowly sits upright as he holds a hand to his brow. "What happened? My head feels like crap…" By surprise, Ritsu wraps his arms around Masamune's neck as he pulls him into a hug. "You're alright..." Masamune was left speechless as the smaller man clung to him.

"…" Blushing, Ritsu snaps out of it as he backs away. "Sorry!" Before he could get up, Masamune grabs his arm and pulls him back down. Instead of a smirk, he warmly smiles at the brunet. "It's alright. You really should take the initiative like this more often." Ritsu looked away as he couldn't find the words to respond. "…"

"Are we in a field?" Getting up the men look around the grassy field to find out where they are. There are some trees in the distance that lead up to a forest but there were obviously no signs of civilization in that direction. Turning around, Masamune points at a not too far off town. "There's a town over there. That's weird, it looks like we're not even in Japan anymore."

Surprised, Ritsu started walking toward it as he spoke with Masamune in tow. "I know this place…" Masamune immediately looked at Ritsu as he waited for the man to continue. "It's the village I used to live in with Tsuri. We're in England."

Masamune immediately looked at Ritsu in shock. "England?! How the hell did we get to another country?!"

"… Does it look like I have the answer to that question?" Furrowing his eyebrows, Ritsu sighed as he looked back towards the village. The men both held a silent agreement that they should go to the village to find out what's going on. Walking out of the field, Ritsu directs Masamune to a nearby paved road that led towards the town.

Walking toward the town, Masamune recalls the study abroad program the brunet had undergone in high school. "I knew you studied abroad in London but you used to live in a village?"

Ritsu happily nodded as he looked up at two birds flying overhead in the cloudy white sky. "Yeah, I lived in England for a little bit when I was a child. This was one of the villages nearby London." Nostalgically sniffing at the slight humidity, the brunet turns to Masamune as he continues. "Ah, but when I came back here in high school, I only visited before staying in London."

Masamune slightly pouted as he looked at Ritsu. "I thought you were born in Japan though."

The brunet nodded as he continued to look at the sky, the patch of sunshine coming through the clouds. "I was, but I left the country when I was six. I came back when I was eight."

The tall man lifted an eyebrow. "That young? Why did you leave Japan and go all the way to England?"

A shadow cast over the brunet's eyes as they walked. "… There were some problems in my family." Looking back down at the road, a cold breeze immediately came on them from the side as they walked.

"…" Sensing the oncoming depression in his beloved, the black haired man decides not to press it any further than that as they continued to walk. Grabbing his hand by surprise, Masamune warmly smiles as the brunet slightly jolts from the gesture but doesn't try to shake him off. The strong blush strikes his ears as they continue to walk.

By the time they get to the village, most of the clouds clear away as they look around. Masamune couldn't help but feel a little happy at seeing the place where his beloved had spent some of his childhood. Some people with light coloring to their hair and eyes walked about the streets as they strode through. Even though he hadn't gone to explore much of the village yet, he could tell that it was a peaceful area.

However, Ritsu raised an eyebrow at the conditions of the buildings. "I wonder if they repainted some of the buildings. They seem newer than the last time I was here." Shrugging off the fact that it's been years since he's been here, the two keep walking.

Noticing that nobody acknowledged their existence, Masamune tried to step in front of a passing man but there was no reaction. "Huh? They can't see us?" Trying to tap someone on the shoulder, Masamune steps back in shock when his hand phased right through. "We can't even touch them."

The men both looked at each other in confusion but couldn't find the words to explain what was going on. They simultaneously shrugged as they walked, not sure about what to do or where to go for their destination. However, Ritsu figured since they were here, he could show Masamune more of the surprisingly big, small village.

A light blush went through Ritsu's cheeks as they went by the various buildings. They passed by a small pharmacy. They walked by an old but proud looking library. They walked by a quaint looking grocery stand that emanated the scent of fresh fruit, apples and berries all around. They walked by a humble looking old woman sitting on a bench, tossing bread crumbs to pigeons with shiny wings. They walked by a bakery with its wooden door open, letting the crispy smell of fresh bread spread out into the street.

Walking down onto the brown bricked plaza at the center of the village, Masamune gritted his teeth as he clamped his hands over his ears. "Oh my god, there's so much foreign language here. It really hurts my ears when I can't understand anything these people are saying."

Ritsu heartily chuckled at his reaction. "Well we're not in Japan anymore." The men both stop when they hear a loud stomp.

Turning towards the fountain at the center of the plaza, they found a group of odd musicians. On sight, Ritsu's eyes immediately sparkled with joy, looking as if he was holding back a cheer. Confused at the sight of Ritsu's excitement, Masamune cautiously looked at the shady looking performers.

There stood a man with a violin, a man with a set of drums, a woman with a guitar, and another man with a flute. They all wore burgundy jackets and hats, letting their faces become hidden away by sunglasses, unable to tell their ages. The violinist's jacket held an emblem of a donkey, the drummer's had one of a dog, guitarist had one of a cat, and the flute player held an emblem of a rooster.

A sweet whine of the solo flute being played strikingly echoed throughout all the passersby's ears as they stopped what they were doing, quickly forming a crowd around them.

Looking around, the raven haired man was astonished to find so many people filling up the plaza as the enchanting music filled the air. "Wow…"

Feeling himself chime into the echoing tune, Ritsu closed his eyes as he listened. Raising an eyebrow, Masamune looked to notice that the townspeople had also closed their eyes as they listened. Some people slightly rocked their shoulders in tune as the music played, smiles lighting up all of their faces.

Masamune could feel himself vibrate as the ghostly music instantly grew more intense. Some of the people even broke into dance as the musicians played, their solid steps rumbling through the impenetrable ground. Speechless, Masamune could only stare in awe as everybody continued with their heavy performance.

He wasn't sure if it was the trick of the light, but towards the end of the song, Masamune could've sworn that everybody had a slight glow, a warm yellow light. Everywhere they stepped, they repeatedly released ripples of bright gold that spread out across the plaza before fading away. Not knowing what he was exactly seeing, he turned to Ritsu.

"Ono-" Turning to the brunet with his eyes still closed, Masamune hung his mouth open when he saw that Ritsu was also glowing. His milk chocolate hair had turned into a golden brown as it tickled his warm cheeks. He didn't even have to move and rings of light kept escaping from his feet. To him, Ritsu looked like an angel.

Looking down on himself, Masamune noticed that his own body started to have a slight glow. Curious, he took a step and nearly jumped when he saw another ring of light appear from his feet, quickly fading away as it expanded.

A breeze lightly kicked up, letting everybody momentarily glow aqua green before ruffling out of the glow.

By the time everybody stopped glowing, the performers all did one simultaneous clap, snapping everybody out of their dazed states. The audience all immediately did a round of applause as the performers bowed. Looking at everybody's faces, Masamune could tell that they seemed as if their hearts were lighter. Gently pressing a hand over his quickly beating heart, Masamune felt a slight blush run to his face as he also felt warmly lighter.

"Did you like it?" Hearing the familiar voice, Masamune turned to find the brunet beautifully smiling up at him. It caught him so off guard to see the usually jaded man smiling so warmly at him that his blush went from ear to ear. "Ah, yeah."

The brunet nodded at his answer before noticing the blush. "Are you alright, Takano-san?"

Amber eyes slightly shifted to the side. "…Yeah, I just didn't expect the music to be that intense." Surprisingly falling for that excuse, Ritsu gave another nod as the two watched the crowd disperse, the odd musicians nowhere to be seen.

Stopping by a nearby restaurant, the two found a calendar hanging on the wall nearby the window. "A calendar? We're nineteen years in the past?!"

The brunet calmly looked around at the surroundings. "No wonder some of these people and buildings look so different." A flash of realization crossed the man's emerald eyes. "Wait, if we're this far back then…" He immediately turns towards a street that had a high incline.

"Onodera?"

So it caught him off guard when the brunet bolted up the hill. Following him up a cobblestone path, Masamune tries to call out to Ritsu but he doesn't turn back. The passing people are mere blurs as Masamune trails after his beloved. At the end of the street, nearby a small river, Masamune finds the brunet catching his breath in front of a medium sized yellow cottage surrounded by trees.

"Oi! Onodera." He called out, the brunet turning towards him. "Why did you run off?"

Panting, he points at the cottage in front of them. "This was my old house." His mouth slightly hung open at the sight of the cottage. In all honesty, the amber eyed man had never expected to see Ritsu's childhood home. Involuntarily, he took a deep breath as they made way for the door.

Walking through the wooden front door, Ritsu immediately stopped in his tracks at the sound of a new voice. "Oh, they're almost home. I should make the tea soon."

From what he could tell, the clear feminine voice came from the kitchen and he wound up bolting towards it. "That voice! Is she really here?" With Masamune in tow, he could only look around in awe of the tidy yet warmly decorated house. Oddly enough, the house smelled just like Ritsu and Tsuri, sweet apples all around. The way it was set up was obviously western, but it still managed to throw Masamune for a loop at the appearance of the humble home.

Coming at a dead stop to the entrance of the warmly lit kitchen, Ritsu quivered. "M-mom?" He shakily stepped forward. "Is that really you?" In front of them was a brunette who held her straight brown hair back in a loose side braid. Slightly humming, she tilted her thin shoulders from left to right, her red apron's straps shifting about her shoulders. Taking a wooden spoon, she headed to the stove.

Taking off the lid of the steel pot, the woman chirped, "Done! Smells just like what Ari's mom used to make." She tilted her head as she sniffed in some of the steam. "Hmmm? Since she's not here to beat me over the head with a wooden spoon I can dare to say it's even better!" The deliciously moist smell of stew wafted throughout the kitchen as the men's stomachs slightly grumbled.

Turning to show her beige colored eyes, Ritsu held a sigh of contentment. "It really is her…" Masamune was surprised to see how much Ritsu had looked like the woman. Their eyes had the same round but proud shape, they had the same colored hair and small faces. Even their physiques, while the woman held her strong curves in the right places, she still had a lithe waist and while she walked, it was enough to show the high hips that the man had admired on his lover.

Other than the odd eye color, he was basically looking at the female version of his beloved.

"Hmmm? Which tea should we have for today?" Going to the cupboard, she opens the wooden doors and points to the lowest shelf, her finger shifting from the multi-colored boxes. "Eeny meenie minie- this one!" Taking a teabag out of the red colored box, she put it in the nearby teapot before everybody heard the front door open.

"Mama! We're back from school!" Called out a young boy and girl.

Turning towards the doorway, the woman's elegantly warm voice chirped throughout the house. "Ritsu! Tsuri! Welcome back! How was it? You two seem pretty energetic."

Masamune lifted an eyebrow but couldn't help but smile at the sight of the little brunet with shining emeralds. "That's you?" The brunet nodded as the black haired man tilted his head in surprise at the sight of Tsuri. "Wow, your sister really did look like that girl." Masamune took note of the pristinely white rabbit sitting in Tsuri's messenger bag.

Running up to the brunette, the twins pull out two drawings from their messenger bags. "Look! Look! For art class we were told to draw our family!" Jumping up and down, the twins adorably lifted the sheets of paper over their heads as mini Ritsu happily said, "The teachers were so surprised by our drawings that they asked us to draw more!" Crouching down, the brunette happily took the drawings off the children's before slightly ruffling up their hair.

Reaching into her red bag, Tsuri pulled out a green covered sketchbook and a yellow covered sketchbook. "They even gave us some sketchbooks." She immediately pulled out a smirk. "Heh, uncle's are way better." Unbeknownst to them, Masamune slightly grimaced as to how similar the girl was to the one he knew in personality.

Masamune tilted his head in surprise at the detailed family portraits the children drew. "Damn, I didn't know you could draw so well, Onodera." However, his praise went unanswered as the brunet dropped his gaze to the floor.

"Mama, do you like it? Do you like it?" They both tilted their heads as they happily looked up at her. "We hope you like it!"

"Huh?" Except for the grown Ritsu, everybody blinked in confusion when the brunette had tears streaming down her small face as her thin shoulders momentarily trembled.

"What's wrong, mama? Why are you crying?" Slightly smiling, she wiped away her tears before they dripped off her dainty chin. "Sorry, I'm just so happy."

"Are you sure?" Frowning at her tears, the twins simultaneously asked, "Are you really sure?"

She slightly chuckled. "Yes, I truly am."

"Mom…" The adult brunet pouted as he looked over his mother's forced smile.

Mini Ritsu slightly narrowed his eyes before clenching his small fists. "Mama."

"Yes, Ritsu?"

Tears rising on his large eyes, he quickly wiped them away as he assured her, "You don't have to be scared. We're not going to leave you."

Blinking twice, Tsuri worriedly look back up at the brunette in surprise. "Mama? You're still worried about that?"

A shadow cast over her eyes as she looked away. "…"

In unison, they both tackled the woman. "We love you too much to leave you! We're going to be together forever! No matter what!"

Tsuri looked up at her mother, puffing out her wet cheeks. "So erase that stupid thought from your mind! Erase it completely!" In response, the woman momentarily hung her mouth open as she looked down on them.

"Tsuri… Ritsu…" Her eyes turned moist again as she pulled both kids together for a hug. "Hic… hic… thank you…" Tears spilled down her cheeks as the two children nestled into her soft chest, warmly smiling.

A flash of recognition crossed Masamune's eyes when he noticed the apple shaped bronze locket dangling from the woman's neck.

"Mom…" Ritsu tried to grab her shoulder to comfort her but his hand went through. A shadow casted over his eyes as he looked down at his hand. A few drops landed on it. "Onodera…" Noticing Ritsu's depression, Masamune wraps his arms around the brunet's fragile shoulders as he pulls him close.

Wiping away her tears, she pulled a sincere smile. "Are you two hungry? I made your favorite today."

"Really?!" The twins jumped for joy before a flash of realization crossed Mini Ritsu's eyes.

He crossed his arms, puffing out his cheeks. "Oneesama, don't eat all the meat again."

Tsuri scoffed. "I make no promises about food."

"Oneesama…" He was about to chastise her but stopped himself as everybody, including the two onlookers felt a sweet scent fill the room. "…?! I smell apple tea!" Mini Ritsu's eyes sparkled in joy.

"Well I did say I made your favorite today. That means apple tea too." Mini Ritsu squealed in response.

* * *

….

With another flash of light, the duo is sent back into the bedroom. Tsuri and Yara are nowhere to be found. This time, Ritsu is facing Masamune as he sits between his legs on the hardwood floor. The bloody rabbit lied in his lap as he held onto the bronze locket. He presses his head against Masamune's broad chest. "You know, Takano-san. Tsuri wasn't the only person who died back then." He clenched his fists. "My real mother passed away as well. That woman was her."

"This locket belonged to her." He shows him the apple shaped locket with the blood stains on it.

Masamune's eyes instantly became wide at the realization. "Then the person who's married to your dad isn't…"

The brunet gently rubbed his mouth against the soft fabric of Masamune's black shirt, weakly mumbling, "She's my stepmother." Sadly narrowing his amber eyes, Masamune lightly ran his hand through the brunet's soft hair as he kissed him on the top of his head.

Masamune's amber gaze dropped to the English written letter on the floor. "So this letter was from your mom…."

Turning his head towards the bronze locket in his hand, Ritsu lightly rubbed his cold finger across the scratched surface, grimacing at the blood stains. "After they… died I was shipped back to Japan. My father and stepmother just showed up at the funeral and told me to pack my things. I really had no choice in the end."

"So the reason you came back to Japan when you were eight was because your family was gone…"

The brunet slowly shook his head. "My uncle and his wife tried to gain custody over me when we were all still in England, but I was still my father's son so they couldn't do anything about it. Technically, I still had family." Looking down at the bloody rabbit, Ritsu started to fiddle with one of its arms as he continued.

"Their graves were put over here when I got back. My stepmother never approved of me visiting them every year, that's why she called me. She'd rather I go on a date than visit my family." Needless to say, the taller man slightly flinched at the mention of the date.

Masamune slightly tilted his head as he furrowed his eyebrows. "What about your dad?"

A flash of anger momentarily crossed Ritsu's emeralds. "Even my father doesn't bother visiting them even though he was the one who decided to put their graves here. To be honest, I could never follow his way of thinking."

Noticing his obvious discomfort, Masamune shifted to a different question. "…That girl mentioned your mother wanted to put your letter on hold until now. Do you have any idea why?"

Peridot eyes turned to the English letter on the floor. "In the letter, she told me she knew that I would have more trouble with the family as I got older so she wanted to hold off on sending this to me. Knowing my stepmother, she would've burned this all on sight if I got it when I was still living in the house. I probably wouldn't have had a chance to read it back then." Ritsu stole a glance at his dark and silver box. "I was lucky she didn't manage to find Tsuri's rabbit or the other stuff I kept in the box. Everything else was burned to ash…"

Surprised, Masamune just looked over everything as he bewilderedly murmured, "Burned it all on sight? Are you serious? That seems pretty far…"

The brunet solemnly nodded. "That was just how much she hated my mother. In order to forget them, my stepmother wanted to make sure I lost everything that had a connection with them." Losing the frown, he warmly smiled as he held the locket to his beating chest. "But I'm really glad for this. Now I can keep the promise to always be together."

Unbeknownst to himself, the smiling brunet had streams of tears escape from the corners of his eyes. The taller man felt a pang in his chest as he saw the brunet's shoulders tremble. Masamune immediately wrapped his arms around the brunet's quivering frame, holding him tight.

"It's going to be alright, Ritsu."

Moist eyes immediately widen before sadly narrowing as Ritsu started whimpering. "T-Takano-san…" He wound up crying even harder as he clung on to the larger man's form. Masamune could feel the front of his shirt getting soaked as his arms wrapped around Ritsu's trembling shoulders. The two sat there for who knows how long, the dark room filling up with little sniffles and deep murmurs of comfort from the amber eyed man. Eventually, small rays of warm light creaked through the folds of the curtain as Ritsu continued to weep.

When he cried to the point where no more tears could come out, he just sobbed into Masamune's chest. The older man didn't say anything as he repetitively rubbed his small back to comfort him. Nodding off, the weary brunet still clung on to Masamune's shirt as he finally let sleep take him. Slightly shocked at his sudden slump, Masamune grabs his shoulders before he fell over. "Ritsu…"

Sweeping him up into his arms, Masamune gently put his beloved onto the bed. He felt a pang in his chest when he looked at Ritsu's tear stricken face. He rubs away the slightly wet paths on Ritsu's pale cheeks as he kissed him on the forehead. Picking up and putting the rabbit, aged letter and locket on the nightstand, he goes back to Ritsu. Amber eyes slightly widen as he noticed the small smile forming on the sleeping brunet's face, followed by a slight blush.

"Takano-san…"

Surprised, Masamune immediately but discretely climbed into bed and gently ran his hand through the brunet's soft hair. Turning towards him, Ritsu lightly snuggled his head towards Masamune's large warm hand as he soundly slept. Warmly smiling, Masamune held him close as he let sleep finally take him.

"Ritsu…"

* * *

**Please Review!**

**If any of you want to see my other Sekaiichi fic, it's over in the crossover section. I put a lot of tears into my baby (Changing Fate: Their Penguindrum) so I hope you will all take the time to enjoy her :')**


	5. Bronze

**A/N: So here's my next chapter for this fic! I was a little depressed for leaving this and my other one alone so I wanted to work on them for a bit. Sorry for the shortness of this one. There's not much progression of the plot until the next chapter but there is some fluffiness in here so I hope that makes up for it!**

**Sorry for any errors I might have missed...**

**Enjoy!**

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The couple is in the brunet's apartment, getting ready for work. Masamune nodded in approval at the amazingly, still clean apartment as he walked through. After he had gotten dressed in his own apartment, the tall man sauntered on over to Ritsu's, saying he wanted to drive to work together. Surprisingly, the brunet accepted the proposal without the usual argument taking place. The editor-in-chief warmly smiled at the thought that Ritsu is starting to accept the concept of being together, even if he hasn't announced his declaration of love yet.

_"It's only a matter of time, though…" _Masamune had thought.

Walking into the bedroom, Masamune found Ritsu completely dressed and fumbling around with an odd accessory. Ritsu turned at the sound of the clacker of shoes and blinked twice before he walked over. Slightly blushing, the brunet stared at his accessory for a moment before he shyly looked back at him. "Takano-san, can you help me with this?"

"That locket?" Amber eyes blinked twice as Masamune took note of the bronze locket in Ritsu's pale hands. He immediately thought back on when the odd little girl butted into their lives the other night, trying to give a strange letter called the 'Shigofumi' and wounded up making Ritsu fall unconscious. It really threw Masamune for a loop when he found out that Ritsu had a dead twin sister named Tsuri that looked just like the little mail courier.

It was shortly after Ritsu woke up from being knocked out that he took the letter and found the heirloom of his real mother. However, Masamune didn't know about Ritsu's real mother until that strange time leap. He inquired about it with Ritsu the day after but even he didn't know much about it. He wanted to chalk off that odd portion of his life as a dream but it obviously seemed too real to be one…

"Yeah… in the letter, my mom asked me to hold onto it. I figured the best way to keep it close was by putting it around my neck, but since it was kind of crusted up with her blood…" The brunet grimaced at the memory before he continued. "I asked my uncle to fix it up for me. He even put in a kumihimo braid since that old chain seemed to be ready to snap." Ritsu's long fingers gently ran across the bumpy surface of the dark brown braid before he handed it off to Masamune.

Recalling that the bronze surface of the apple pendant was previously scratched up, most likely from years of wear and tear, Masamune marveled at the pristine condition of the bronze heirloom. "Your uncle's a jeweler?" The smooth, cog shaped grooves of the apple shaped locket were gently caressed by Masamune's strong fingers. Slightly turning it, Masamune could see a slight reflection of light coming off the repaired piece of bronze.

The brunet shook his head. "No, he actually owns an art supply store but he's the type that has random hobbies. Well, it's not just him, his wife has a bunch of hobbies as well."

Turning around, Ritsu exposed his long neck by lifting up the silky chocolate locks with his pale fingers. Some slippery locks of hair went past his fingers as Masamune wrapped the soft braid around his lover's neck. He unconsciously sniffed in Ritsu's sweet apple scent as he turned the necklace to make sure that the pendant was at the middle of Ritsu's neck.

"He was so surprised when I showed him the locket. Asking me how the hell I got it. He gave me a really weird look when I told him I got it from a little girl who looked like Tsuri." Ritsu slightly flinched as he felt the warmness of the back of Masamune's warm finger pressing into the back of vulnerable neck as he fumbled with the small latch. "…He even checked my forehead for a fever."

"Wouldn't that be a normal reaction?" Already aware of the fact that Tsuri is supposed to be Ritsu's dead twin sister, Masamune was pretty sure most people would have some type of reaction. Looking back on the little girl's appearance, what with her doll-like features and odd eyes, Masamune was pretty sure it would be hard to find another person that would look like her. Masamune almost slapped himself when he failed to realize that aside from her eyes and the texture of her hair, the two looked very similar. He could've at least chalked her off as a relative when it was clear they knew each other.

The brunet nodded at his statement. "Well, yeah. They've been dead for almost twenty years." At this point, they both heard the small shutting sound of the lock on the necklace, letting Ritsu know that it's secure.

Ritsu shyly turned around to show the ornament at the base of his neck. Considering how short the brown braid was, the necklace wrapped around Ritsu's pale neck in a perfect circle, however it was still loose enough for him to be able to breathe without trouble. "D-does it look weird on me?" The brunet's face suddenly went redder as he felt Masamune's strong gaze on his neck. "…!" Ritsu was pretty sure his pounding heart could be heard as Masamune undid the first button on his shirt, spreading open the collar by gliding his long fingers against the brunet's supple skin.

He knew that his boss was starting to push it but for some odd reason, he didn't want to say anything as Masamune's firm fingers trailed around the surrounding soft skin of the thin braid. The gentle caress of each finger pressing against his flesh sent small jolts of electricity down Ritsu's quivering spine.

Warmly smiling, Masamune slowly slid a warm finger up Ritsu's neck and underneath his dainty chin as amber met emerald. "I was never a fan of jewelry but I must say it fits you pretty well." The man never liked it when he saw somebody wearing obviously overdone necklaces and other various types of jewelry. However, the apple pendant was one of the few exceptions. It was simple yet original in design. It was clear that it had a lot of history and a lot more character.

Green eyes blinked twice as he curiously looked up at Masamune. "Really…?" The brunet was already aware that it's normally women who wore jewelry around their neck and originally considered it would be fine since the locket wasn't too flashy like most are. However, there's still that small bit of insecurity in the back of his mind.

Relief streamed across moist peridot eyes as Masamune nodded. "T-thank you." Catching him off guard, Ritsu slowly turned the corners of his lips as he gave a warm smile. For a moment, he seemed to give off that odd glow Masamune had seen when they'd gone through that time leap. The amber-eyed man could feel his cheeks growing warmer by the second.

"…"

His large hand immediately grabbed the brunet's shoulder as he pulled him close. "T-Takano-san?!" Tugging him downwards, the two go to the hardwood floor as Masamune wrapped his strong arms around Ritsu's lithe waist. Ritsu tried to move but Masamune gripped at his high hips, sending more tingles down his spine as his lover gently forced him back down on his lap.

Not caring for the hardness of the floor, Masamune lied on his back as he pulled Ritsu on top of his chest. The faint smell of coffee and cigarettes streamed through Ritsu's petite nose. The brunet blushed even harder as he pressed his ear against his lover's strong chest, hearing a rapid heartbeat. "Don't worry, I won't do anything." Masamune's strong voice barreled through both men's bodies as he held Ritsu tightly in his arms.

"I just want to hold you close..."

Ritsu slightly nodded as he shakily raised up his arms, ringing them around Masamune's thick neck. The larger man slightly flinched in surprised as the brunet adjusted himself, resting his small chin against the crook of Masamune's neck. Emerald eyes blinked twice in surprise as he noticed Masamune's ear was pink, however he didn't motion to comment.

They lied there, embracing each other's warm bodies. Gently stroking his beloved's soft hair, Masamune decided to open his mouth. "Oh yeah, I was wondering. If you've lived in England before then you're probably not full Japanese, are you?" The amber-eyed man had always wondered about Ritsu's odd coloring ever since high school. It was pretty rare for a Japanese person to have green eyes and brown hair unless they had dyed their hair and put in contacts. However, Ritsu never had the signs of black roots in his hair, nor did he seem like the type to stick a piece of foreign material on his eyes for the sake of changing his eye color.

Ritsu slightly turned his head as he curiously looked up at Masamune. "Yeah, only a small amount of my blood is Japanese. My family on my father's side had a tendency on taking foreign partners. I think I'm about an eighth Japanese. Why?"

Masamune just sighed. "Just wondering."

* * *

….

Above the large city of Tokyo, a little girl with pure white wings descends from the gloomily clouded sky. A mild gust brushes up her silky brown hair and causes her lengthy cape to rise as she continues her descent. She slightly shuffled her cheeks into the white puffiness of her red shawl, letting the puffs of white tickle her pale skin. Heterochromic eyes look over the various buildings as she flies over the urban scenery.

Tsuri remains silent until her compatriot, Yara, currently a headpiece of emerald jewelry that bounded around her small forehead from the wind started to blink. "Humans are so weird. Why write a Shigofumi to a complete stranger? One from a completely different country, no less. I think this is the first time we ever got this type of letter."

"Sometimes strangers are the ones who give us the most comfort." Tsuri had immediately answered with a nostalgic smile. Small puffs of whiteness come out of her petite mouth as she heartily inhales the fresh air.

"Even though you like being rude to strangers?"

A mischievous smile crossed Tsuri's pink lips. "Because it's comforting."

Yara sighed as she switched to a different topic. "Tsuri, what are you going to do now?" The little girl slightly jolted from what her partner most likely meant. "Your little brother already recognized you for the most part."

"It looks like he's in good hands for now, but I'm probably going to have to ask his lover to keep a tab on him just in case." Tsuri sighed as she thought back on Masamune. She was originally thrown off by the fact that her little brother's lover was a male but quickly accepted it. It only took one glance for her to tell that they were suited for each other. "I have that feeling he realizes who I am for the most part as well."

"Tsuri… do you remember what happened back at your brother's apartment? You know… that light?" The girl immediately thought back to when her little brother grabbed her hand after giving the letter. It really surprised her when that light came out of nowhere, hearing the familiar music before she saw a vision of the past.

Holding up her small hand in front of her, Tsuri slightly chuckled. "Yeah, who'd have thought those musicians were still around?"

"Musicians?"

* * *

**A/N: I hope that didn't suck too much...**

**Next chapter will reveal who is Tsuri's next recipient, who is one of the main characters. Hilariousness shall ensue...**

**Please Review!**


	6. Rumor Has It

**A/N: Welcome to another chapter of Remembering When My World Ended!**

**I actually wanted to submit this a few days ago but my wi-fi betrayed my computer, so I couldn't do anything until now. But it's all good now!**

**This chapter was cut in half because it winded up getting too long...**

**Sorry for any errors I might have missed...**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything except for my OCs Tsuri and Yara**

**Enjoy!**

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In a certain mangaka's apartment, a group of artists are hard at work, finishing up their already late manuscript. Most of them were completely disheveled, what with their messed up hairstyles, bags underneath their eyes, and containing the faint smell of sweat. What little sunlight that penetrated the studio from the window's curtains seemed to give everybody a slight headache as they tried to keep all eye contact away from it. All sets of eyes were attentively glaring at the work in front of them as they proceeded to finish.

Large oceanic eyes narrow in irritation as Yoshino weakly mumbled to himself. "Complete crap? Nonsense?" A talented hand angrily inked out the hair of the leading heroine on the final page of his work. He sighed in exhaustion as he looked over the now completely inked in page, ready for the final stages of applying the screentones and typesets. "…Seriously?"

Yawning as she applied the typesets to one of the pages, one of the assistants started to talk. "…Hey, did you hear about that rumor?" The assistants knew that at this rate, they'd be able to finish within the extension they were given so one of them thought it would be good to cheer the others up with some small gossip.

"What rumor?"

"Apparently there's a little girl that's been going around giving out letters." Unbeknownst to everybody else, Yoshino flinched from the casual mention.

The other two female assistants dejectedly sigh. "What kind of rumor is that?"

"I heard that the people who take the letter wind up dead!" Yanase let out a small snort at this point.

"Eh? Some kind of cursed letter or something?"

"Apparently, the letter's from someone who already died. So they wind up cursing you to death!" All of the assistants, with the exception of Yanase, let out surprised chirps as they continued their work.

Yoshino started to shake. "Little girl? Letters? Wind up dead? Cursed to death?"

Hearing him, one of the assistants turned towards Yoshino. "Sensei, you've heard about the rumor?"

"Ah, kind of…"

Yanase sighed as he continued to move his hand around the page. "If you three have the time to be talking about rumors then you should keep working. We're already over the deadline and our extension ends at noon."

"I think we know why." As if on cue, Hatori dressed in usual work shirt and tie had walked into the room, bags under his cobalt eyes. For it was he, who had to beg the printers for the extension for two days in a row. Needless to say, he'll have to apologize to everybody under the sun afterwards.

One of the assistants sighed as she applied the typeset. "We were on a good streak too… I wonder why Sensei suddenly decided to slow down a few days ago. We could've finally made the deadline this month..." Needless to say, Hatori sent a glare over to his procrastinating prone lover.

Yoshino dejectedly leaned over as he worked on the final stages of his last page. "Right…"

Noticing his sickly complexion, Yanase worriedly turned towards the mangaka. "Chiaki, are you alright? You seem kind of pale." In reaction, Hatori looked more closely at his lover, grimacing at the fact that he seemed worse off than everybody else in the room.

He immediately shot back up as he hastily went back to work. "I-I'm fine! I just want to finish this!"

* * *

….

The next autumn morning, Yoshino felt slightly refreshed from his long slumber but still felt kind of lethargic. However, there's one more thing that's adding to his issue.

Lounging in his large apartment, he sat on the soft couch as he glared at the duo across from him. "Seriously, how long are you going to keep this up?"

Reading a book written in English as she sat on the blue couch, Tsuri casually crossed her narrow leg over the other. The pale girl's wavy chocolate locks that were kept down by her messenger hat had brushed against the sides of her small face as her jeweled eyes smoothly shifted across the creamy pages. The ruffled portions of her red shawl hanging off her thin shoulders had a few hints of frost but were quickly drying off. The long blue cape easily covered most of her arms as she held up the small book in her petite hands. Her appearance was so odd yet beautiful that Yoshino almost felt like he was looking at a ceramic doll before she spoke.

"It's only been two days. We're keeping this up until you take the letter."

"I don't plan to!"

The apple-scented girl smirked as her green eyes ringed with gold gleamed from the morning sunlight. "Then we'll keep bothering you until you do."

Shortly after Tsuri and Yara had descended from Shigo, they immediately flew to Yoshino's apartment. The mangaka was home alone at the time. However, the assistants were all on their way over to help finish the manuscript. Tsuri originally had the letter out on her hand, ready for the taking but was interrupted when her staff pointed out that a large number of people were coming up on the elevator.

Knowing that it would be hell to deal with if so many people were around them, Tsuri reluctantly withdrew by calling out a sequence of numbers before she and her staff disappeared before the mangaka's bewildered eyes. They were all stuck there for the following day, finishing up the manuscript.

It was during that crunch time where he heard the rumor, leading the trio to this current situation.

Looking the oddly dressed girl over, Yoshino had guessed that the young girl had to be around eight years old. "Shouldn't you be in school?"

Tsuri scoffed. "Nope." The shocked man stared at her before she continued with her wise, sharp eyes on the pages. "Why don't you want to take the letter?" At that moment, he shot up from where he sat with balled fists.

"You should know! I want to live, dammit…" As silly as it obviously seemed for someone to die from reading a letter, Yoshino didn't have any assumptions that the rumor was simply blowing everything out of proportion.

Tsuri raised a finely plucked eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"Aren't those letters cursed?"

Tsuri immediately flipped her book over on her lap to make sure she didn't lose the page as she opened up her bag. Taking out the letter, Tsuri held it between two delicate fingers. "They're Shigofumi." She held it out to Yoshino as he warily stared at it.

"Shigofumi?"

"Letters from the departed. This person's last words were addressed to you. Well, if the person wants to curse you then there's nothing I can do about it." Staring at the letter, the little girl nonchalantly shrugged her thin shoulders at her last statement.

Shivers ran down Yoshino's spine as he backed away. "I don't want it!"

"Tsuri! You're scaring him." The talking staff had worriedly said.

She pouted as she put the letter away. "But it's true…" Tsuri sighed as she crossed her thin arms before going back to her book.

"Tsuri…"

"… I'm still not used to that staff talking." Needless to say, Yoshino is also freaked out by the sight of the staff floating off the ground.

Yara immediately floated up to his face as she exclaimed. "Don't be rude! Just call me Yara!"

Exasperated, Yoshino crossed his arms as he stared at the duo. "I think the rude ones are the ones who broke into my house."

"That's part of my job." Tsuri smirked as her eyes gleamed with mischief.

"What kind of mailman breaks into people's houses?!" Ever since the whole mention of the rumor, Yoshino made sure to lock the front door so Tsuri wouldn't get in. He knew it was cruel to leave a child outside by herself, but if the letter she was trying to give him could somehow magically kill him, then this was a different matter. However, with the aid of Yara, Tsuri had no issue in opening locked doors.

Tsuri proudly chuckled. "A very good one."

"That's right~!" Yara slightly giggled before she held a small gasp. "Oh, someone's coming, Tsuri."

"Well, it'd be more trouble if there were more people." Closing her foreign book, Tsuri quickly put it away. She sighed as she stood up and grabbed Yara, recomposing herself.

A wicked smile formed on Tsuri's small face as she creepily tilted her head. "_I'll be back…_" She huskily said. Whispering out a sequence of numbers, the duo disappeared, with Tsuri's ghostly chuckles in their wake.

Shivering in fear, Yoshino slowly backed away. "Oh god…" He nervously rubbed the sides of his arms as he waited for the echoing chuckles to die out. The older man never expected such a young child to be capable of scaring him like this. With her appearance, she seemed like a doll, then her mouth opened and that was the end of that. Yoshino grimaced at the thought of how her parents might've dealt with her before he heard his front door open followed by heavy footsteps.

He turned towards the door to see Hatori listlessly meander into the room towards the kitchen. In his large hands were two plastic bags filled with groceries for the usual meal. "…Tori, how'd it go with the printers?" Hatori didn't say anything; however his glare with bags still under his eyes was enough to tell the story. "…That bad?"

The editor sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his strong nose. "I get that you miss the deadlines every month, but what happened?" He plopped his bags of groceries on the kitchen counter as he turned towards Yoshino. "That assistant was right. At your previous pace, you could've made the deadline this time."

"That's..." Large cobalt eyes shifted to the side as Yoshino twiddled his thumbs. "Hey Tori, do you think the stories I make are good?"

Surprised, Hatori raised a tired eyebrow. "Why are you asking that?"

"… I was just wondering."

* * *

…

The next morning, Tsuri is still in the apartment, nonchalantly sitting on the couch with Yara hovering nearby. Yoshino stood in front of her, angrily tapping his foot. "I am this close to calling the cops!" Leaning over with one hand on his narrow hip, he held out his other hand, curling his thumb and index finger towards each other. However, Tsuri just smirked at his action.

"Hmmm? What are you going to say? 'Help! A little girl keeps breaking into my house and I'm scared!' or something like that?" The little girl mimicked his fear by slapping her small hands to the sides of her face and tilting her head as if she were the person in a certain infamous Munch painting.

"…"

Tsuri started to chuckle. "Wait, you were actually going to tell them that?"

The oldest person in the room immediately blushed as he crossed his thin arms. "…Why are you trying to give me the letter anyway?"

The sweet-scented girl immediately recomposed herself as she took on a professional tone in her voice. "You're Yoshino Chiaki, also known as Yoshikawa Chiharu, correct?"

"How did you know that?!" It was already a known fact that everybody expected the mangaka to be a female. Hell, it was supposed to be a secret about his gender at this point. Only a few people in the Emerald department even knew that Yoshikawa was a male. So the concept of an eight year old knowing would present some issues.

"Well, the sender wanted this letter to get to Yoshikawa Chiharu, the shoujo mangaka. Yara here managed to figure out your real name." Tsuri gestured over to her floating staff.

"That's right!"

"Besides, I've been trying to read shoujo manga but I could never stand most of it. Yours is different though." Throwing the mangaka off guard, Tsuri gave a soft smile as she looked through her messenger bag.

He softly stepped a foot forward on the hardwood floor as he curiously looked at Tsuri. "What do you mean?" He raised an eyebrow when Tsuri held out the Shigofumi.

She smirked. "I'll tell you if you take the letter."

The shoujo mangaka angrily stomped his foot. "No way in hell!"

* * *

…

Later on in the cold day, Hatori stopped by to prepare the usual meal for his lover. The bags under his eyes have almost vanished but he did a double take when he noticed that Yoshino still seemed worse off than him.

Still lethargic, the casually clothed mangaka had previously collapsed onto the couch and just emptily stared at the ceiling. A long leg was raised up towards the ceiling while the other had lain flat against the cushions. A hand casually rested on Yoshino's thin chest as it rose and fell with each soft breath. "Yoshino, is everything alright?" On the way over, Hatori had tried to call up Yoshino to see if he wanted anything but there was never any answer. He assumed he was just sleeping but it doesn't seem to be the case.

With the living room curtains drawn open, Yoshino's sickly face had become more pronounced in the setting sunlight. He seemed better the day after the manuscript was submitted but now he seems even worse than when he was working during crunch time. He was scarily pale with heavy looking bags underneath his dull eyes.

Hatori worriedly furrowed his eyebrows as he walked over to Yoshino. The only sign that Yoshino was responsive was that he slightly shifted his dull eyes over to Hatori's direction. The taller man kneeled at Yoshino's side as he pressed his cool hand on his forehead, finding no sign of a fever. He gently ran his long fingers through Yoshino's dark mane. "…You're not feeling well?" Not saying anything, Yoshino meekly shook his head as he blankly stared at Hatori.

Hatori frowned as Yoshino still hadn't said anything. "Stay put. I'm going to get you some medicine." If he wasn't going to tell him what didn't feel right, then he could at least use the medicine to get to sleep and recover. Motioning to get up, Hatori stopped in surprise as Yoshino tightly grabbed at his hand.

"Yoshino…?" He slowly looked back down to see fear shining deep in large, azure eyes.

The uke immediately blushed as he immediately let go. He defensively held his hands up in front of him as he sat upright. "I-I'm fine! It's just… never mind." Yoshino momentarily looked away before he forced out a chuckle. "Besides, I bet you could use the sleep more than I could!"

Looking at Yoshino's sickly complexion, Hatori sighed as he ordered Yoshino to lie back down. "…"

* * *

….

Later that night, Tsuri and Yara are back in the apartment. Hatori had previously gone out due to an unexpected emergency at work so the trio were all alone in the dark apartment. Tsuri raised an eyebrow at the lack of lighting and checked for the switch, finding the one for the kitchen, which was enough to light up the adjacent room and find Yoshino.

Walking up to Yoshino's collapsed form on the couch, Tsuri had frowned at his weak complexion. With the curtains still drawn open, the moonlight touched the slight curves of Yoshino's pale face as he continued to emptily stare at the ceiling. "Are you alright? You look kind of pale." Tsuri had worriedly asked.

Hearing her voice, Yoshino bolted up from where he was sitting with a small fire in his eyes. "I refuse to submit!"

The brunette tilted her head in confusion as wavy locks framing her small face shifted to the side. "Submit to what? Taking the letter?"

"Of course!"

"Hatori Yoshiyuki." Yoshino flinched at the name before Tsuri continued. "Is that man your lover? Your scents are all mixed up." Slightly leaning her small head forward, Tsuri took a small sniff with a twitch of her petite nose to make sure. Unbeknownst to Yoshino, Tsuri had stuck around for a few extra seconds when she originally turned invisible to see when Hatori had walked into the apartment. He carried Yoshino's scent, enough of which to let her know their relationship.

Feeling that this might become an extended delivery, Tsuri had previously asked Yara to run a check on all of the people who had gone into the apartment during Yoshino's crunch time. Needless to say, she was surprised when Yara pointed out Hatori was a fellow co-worker of her brother. However, since she has no idea what their relationship is, she decided to leave him alone in that regard.

"Don't curse him!"

"Curse him?" Tsuri sighed as she raised an eyebrow. "You're the type that likes to come to ridiculous conclusions without finding evidence first, aren't you?"

"…!" Yoshino's reddish face was all Tsuri needed to know for his answer.

"Sheesh, humans really are weird." Yara had wearily said.

"Besides, the Shigofumi is only meant for you."

"…I see." Yoshino held a weak grimace before he noticed the staff's blinking gem.

"Tsuri, there's somebody coming to the front door."

"How troublesome... we just got here…" Tsuri pursed her soft lips into a childish pout before she slightly bowed and turned to Yara. "Bye for now. Yara…" She called out a familiar sequence of numbers.

"Got it!" With a small flash of green light, the duo disappeared Yoshino's tired eyes. Even though he was originally freaked out by the magical disappearances that keep occurring when somebody else shows up at the apartment, Yoshino just doesn't feel as astonished at this point. He sighed at the thought of how long Tsuri was going to keep this up until he heard the front door open.

"Oh, Yuu."

He slightly turned to see his childhood friend running up to his side, worry in his garnet eyes. "Chiaki! I got a call from Tori saying that you've been acting pretty weird." His eyes widened when he noticed Chiaki's sickly complexion before he checked his forehead to find no sign of a fever. "Are you alright? You're still kind of pale. Have you taken any medicine?"

The mangaka slowly nodded. "…Yeah. Tori came by and gave me some medicine earlier. He was called back to work for some sort of screw up at the printers but he should be back soon... " He looked at the nearby clock to see that it was pretty late into the night and Hatori could be back pretty soon to check on him.

The duo just sat there for what seemed like a few hours, what with Yoshino retaking his old position of lying on the couch and blankly staring at the vacant ceiling. Yanase frowned at how distant Yoshino had gotten as he sat right next to him, unsure of what to do. He thought Hatori was uncharacteristically overreacting on the phone when he called him up earlier but seeing his crush like this made him see why.

A flash of realization crossed garnet eyes as the brunet looked over Yoshino's thin body. "…Are you acting weird because of what happened at the bookstore?" Yoshino flinched at the mention before Yanase continued. "You shouldn't let something like that get to you."

"…" Unsure of what to say, Yoshino slowly sat up but slouched over in his seat, not making eye contact.

"Think of it this way. If Hatori never approved of the story then he wouldn't have let you work yourself so hard for the manga. Not to mention you're one of the most popular mangaka out there."

"… I guess that's true." The dark-haired man weakly shrugged before he held a hand to his mouth and warmly yawned. "Sorry, Yuu. I'm a bit tired. I think the medicine's starting to make me sleepy."

"It's ok, you need to sleep." Yoshino slightly nodded before he plopped back down on the couch, his short black hair splayed out around his head, and quickly fell asleep. Yanase raised an eyebrow at how fast he knocked out before he heard the door open.

"Yanase, what happened at the book store?" Unbeknownst to the duo, Hatori was right behind the door when Yanase brought up the incident. He knew that they wouldn't talk about it if he had walked in so he stood behind the door and waited before they were done with their little chat.

"We were walking nearby one of the shoujo manga aisles and there were a group of stupid girls who kept bashing on Chiaki's book. I guess the criticism really got to him…"

A few days before the initial deadline, the duo had gone out to Marimo Books to check out the new releases. Yoshino knew that at that point he should've been working on his manga but he was too hyped to remember the deadline. Yanase briefly pointed out the deadline but he too got sucked into all of the hype and followed his crush all the way into the store.

Originally headed for the shounen manga area of the large store, the duo had walked by the shoujo manga aisles, leading them to the problematic situation. The first thing they heard from the shoujo aisle was the boisterous girls criticizing the manga that Yoshino had created. It was obvious to Yanase that the girls didn't seem like the sharpest tools in the shed considering the vast amount of criticism on the storyline of the manga that didn't even make any sense. However, it was enough to deter Yoshino.

"So that's why he's been so depressed?"

The sleeping mangaka slightly whimpered in his sleep. He unconsciously furrowed his brow as he murmured, "… Evil letter." Shifting about in his sleep, Yoshino shivered. "…Don't want it."

"Evil letter?" Yanase raised an eyebrow before he quickly face palmed at the realization. "Don't tell me. He seriously believes that stupid rumor?"

"Rumor? Oh, the one the assistants were talking about?" Hatori took a deep sigh as he frowned at Yoshino's troubled expression. "I swear, if the reason he's getting sick is because he's stressed over a rumor…"

"Kind of sounds like something he'd do." The brunet shrugged before he got up to leave. He briefly hung his arms above his head for a minor stretch before he turned to Hatori. "Well, I have to go now. Try not to take advantage of him while he's sleeping." A small smirk flitted past his lips as Yanase proceeded to leave.

"..."Needless to say Hatori took another deep sigh as Yanase exited the apartment. Not wanting to wake him up, Hatori went to the closet to pull out a spare blanket. He gently placed it over Yoshino's thin form, tugging it up to his protruding shoulder before he gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. Having the strong desire to stay by his side, Hatori just sat right next to him as he gently ran his fingers through his dark hair. Hatori blinked twice when he noticed Yoshino's troubled expression disappearing.

"Tori…" He softly purred with a warm smile.

* * *

**A/N: And that ends this first half! I hope you liked Tsuri's little antics... :)**

**Actually, I was thinking about whether or not I should go back to Ritsu and Takano for the next chapter since their next event takes place in the midst of Tsuri trying to give Yoshino his Shigofumi so...**

**Or I could post the second half of this and jump right back to Ritsu and Takano after that! I realize some people may not like if i just disrupt the story like that so I'm kind of iffy on what to do... :/**

**Please Review!**


	7. Graves and Family

**Suggested BGM: Don't Forget the Sun by Uppermost**

* * *

The sun was already starting to set. Warm light streamed through the windows of the floral shop as Ritsu spoke to the clerk. The young brunet was completely dressed in black, wearing a formal black jacket and pants. The only article of colored clothing that he wore was the bronze apple-shaped locket that was wrapped around his neck.

"I have your bouquet all ready, Onodera-san." Pulling out an extravagant yet quaint arrangement of flowers, the clerk adjusted a few flowers that seemed a bit off in the arrangement. Handing it off to Ritsu, the two exchanged pleasantries before Ritsu headed out the door.

Walking outside, Ritsu quickly headed over to the dark car parked in front of the shop. There was a wind barreling through and Ritsu made sure to cover up the flowers as he made his way over. "Takano-san, I got them." Ritsu had said as he opened the door. He carefully climbed into the car as he positioned the elegant bouquet into his lap. He turned to see Masamune completely clad in black, eyeing the flowers.

"Damn, that looks pretty amazing." To Masamune, the floral arrangement was a literal explosion of reds, oranges, and whites. This was something that Masamune had not expected Ritsu to get for a yearly grave visit. Wafting throughout the car, he could feel a strong apple-like scent that greatly resembled Ritsu's.

"Since their graves were put over here, I wanted to make sure that everything came out pretty well. It's the least I can do for them." A warm smile graced Ritsu's lips as he looked down at the array of flowers. "My mother's name is Zakuro so I always made the habit of getting pomegranate blossoms for her." Ritsu pointed over to the orange flowers before pointing to the red and white ones. "Tsuri's favorite flowers were apple blossoms and peonies."

"Wait, so that's why you had me go get an apple and a pomegranate?" Masamune immediately turned to the backseat of the car to see the fruit he had bought, sitting in a bag.

"Well, of course. They'd love it if you got them their favorite fruits…" Red tinged Ritsu's cheeks as he tried to reword his sentence. "I mean, it'd be kind of awkward if you met them for the first time and you didn't bring them anything. I'd really like it if you gave a good first impression." Ritsu's cheeks grew even redder. "I-I mean…!" Ritsu was stopped when he felt a warm hand on his cheek and he turned to see Masamune leaning over.

"Thank you." Masamune softly kissed him on the cheek.

"…" Not doing anything more, Masamune leaned back to direct his eyes towards the road with his hands on the wheel. However, he stopped himself for a moment when he felt Ritsu's emerald gaze. Amber eyes shifted for a quick glance to see Ritsu completely wide eyed and blushing like mad. He looked completely adorable.

With a content smile on Masamune's lips, the two drove through the streets and up onto the highway. Ritsu had already given him the directions on which exit to take so there wasn't much discussion being carried out.

"…So you always visited them?"

Masamune stole a glance at the setting sun, still bewildered at the time of day. He originally thought that Ritsu would want to go to the cemetery during the day and it kind of threw him for a loop when he said that he only went when the sun was starting to set.

"Yes, I visited them every year… except for when I left for England in high school…" Ritsu grimaced at bringing up the sore subject. His eyes vibrated with sorrow before he turned away.

"Right…" Masamune's long fingers squeezed the dark rim of the steering wheel. "So your uncle visited them in your place?"

"No… my uncle and his wife came with me to England. They wanted to make sure I wasn't alone." Ritsu had confessed. "…To be honest, they were the ones who raised me throughout the rest of my childhood."

Nobody said anything for the next ten minutes of the ride. Masamune wasn't really sure what to say or ask about Ritsu's childhood, as curious as he was. It was clear that he had it pretty rough when he was growing up and he still hadn't gotten over the past. The last thing Masamune wanted was to see Ritsu break into tears again over the terrible memories he seemed to have…

Masamune was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Ritsu take a deep breath. "…Takano-san, there's something I think I should tell you… about why I went to England in high school. Like you told me before, I pretty much disappeared off the face of the earth. I guess I could've at least told you before I left…" Ritsu furrowed his brow, rubbing the cool surface of the bronze locket resting on the base of his neck.

"Did your dad force you to go or something?"

"No… this actually happened a few days after I stopped going to school. My uncle called me in the middle of the night, telling me that a friend of his in London had arrested a man." Ritsu sighed as he looked at the setting sun. "I didn't know why he told me that until he faxed me a picture of the man and my first words were, 'It's _him_'." Ritsu had venomously hissed.

"Him?"

"As it turned out, that man happened to be the one who murdered my mother and my sister."

Surprised, Masamune had almost stopped the car. Seeing as there wasn't much traffic on the highway, Masamune stole a glance over to Ritsu to see his narrowed eyes showing so much pain.

"They were… murdered?"

Ritsu solemnly nodded as he crinkled a small fold of the plastic wrapper between his fingers. "Not even two hours later, I was all packed and ready to leave the country. I wasn't really thinking. I just wanted to see for myself if the man really matched the picture, and he did."

"So they found the guy by luck?" Masamune had asked, only to see Ritsu shake his head.

"Apparently, my uncle's friend was a detective that was still on the case at the time." Ritsu had told. "It had already been eight years since it happened and he was the only one who didn't give up…"

"Was there a trial?"

"The trial carried on for two years."

"In the end, what happened?" Masamune asked.

"His verdict was guilty. They wound up giving him life imprisonment."

"And… how did you know for sure that he was the man when you saw that photo?" Masamune had curiously asked. He raised an eyebrow at the lack of a response and peaked over to Ritsu. Amber eyes had gone wide as he saw the fierce expression in Ritsu's face. The look in his peridot eyes seemed as if they were replaying something. Masamune went wide eyed when he noticed the cog engravings on the apple shaped locket held a small glow before fading away.

"Because… because he killed them right in front of me." Ritsu had whispered out, loud enough to reach Masamune's shocked ears. "At one point, even I had to go up to the stand and describe how he killed my family…" Ritsu had quivered at his final confession. He turned towards the window, letting a single tear slide down his cheek as he rubbed his aching head.

Going off the highway, the car went down the ramp and Masamune parked at a nearby parking lot. He quickly wrapped his arms around Ritsu's shoulders and pulled him close, making sure not to disrupt the flowers. Masamune rubbed Ritsu's back in small circles, letting him relax into his shoulder. "…I'm sorry."

Ritsu slowly shook his head as he pulled away from Masamune. "Don't be."

…

"So, where are they?" The duo looked around the warmly lit cemetery to see that they were the only living beings around. Ritsu gestured for Masamune to follow him towards some distant stone steps that led up to a hill.

"Ritsu!" A booming voice surprised the two as they turned towards the source.

"Uncle! You're already here?" Masamune had originally raised an eyebrow further down the road when he saw an approaching tuft of blazing redness.

"_Shit, he's tall…" _When the man had come over, Masamune had almost taken a step back in surprise when he noticed how tall the hyperactive man was. Towering over the duo at fifteen centimeters higher than Masamune, Ritsu's uncle happily rubbed the top of Ritsu's head as if he were a child. Despite the black suit he wore, the man's wavy red hair and proud gold eyes seemed to make him look anything but solemn.

"Yeah, the traffic was unexpectedly light this time around."

"I see."

"Oh, you must be the person little Rittie told me about!" Masamune couldn't help but crack up at the nickname, earning a glare from Ritsu. "I'm Onodera Areta. It's a pleasure to meet you." The redhead had told as he extended his hand to Masamune. He tilted his head in surprise at the odd greeting, not knowing what to do.

"Umm… uncle…"

"Areta, that's the wrong greeting." Chimed in a calm, female voice. Everybody turned to see a beautiful woman with black hair and flawless bronze skin walking up to them. Her wavy black hair was tied back into a long ponytail with a few locks hanging over her ears. She wore a darkly colored knitted sweater with a long skirt that swept over her ample curves and hid her model-like figure. Standing at about Ritsu's height, the tall woman had stood beside the redhead. A light cinnamon scent emanated from her as a little breeze went by. Her sharp steel eyes seemed to give a serene but unsettling look as she looked over Ritsu and Masamune.

"But I personally like handshakes better." Areta had moaned.

"That doesn't matter if you wind up confusing the other party." The beautiful woman had sighed, crossing her arms.

"Marga nee-san, you're looking well." Ritsu said. Marga warmly nodded as she walked over and introduced herself to Masamune.

"Excuse my ditzy husband." The dark haired woman did a formal bow, grabbing the front of her tall husband's tie.

"Oof…" The redhead winced when Marga immediately tugged down on the tie and he was brought down to bow at the duo.

"I'm Onodera Marga, wife to this lovable oaf over here. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I'm Takano Masamune, it's a pleasure." Masamune had bowed in return.

Looking the two people over, Masamune couldn't help but feel a little surprised at them in terms of appearance. The entire time, he thought that Ritsu's uncle and aunt would have a gentle and aged atmosphere around them. He remembered that Ritsu mentioned that his father was the youngest out of all of his siblings and it would make sense that Areta would look like more of an older man. However, he seemed to be bursting with life and could easily pass off as someone younger, even with the few white strands of hair he had in the mane of red.

Areta and Marga also carried a strong sense of wisdom in their eyes but it seemed to be something that would belong to people who would be older. However, the way they carried themselves held such unbridled confidence that it would be difficult to notice the aged pain of sorrow in their eyes. It pretty much reminded Masamune of how Ritsu looked when he first came to Marukawa.

"What's wrong?" Ritsu had asked. He noticed that the pairs of steel and gold eyes kept shifting between Ritsu and Masamune, as if trying to figure something out.

"You're lovers?" Areta and Marga had asked.

Red faced, Ritsu vigorously shook his head. "N-no! He's my boss!" He held the bouquet of flowers close to his chest as if it were a stuffed animal. Masamune couldn't help but pout at the denial Ritsu was still in. They had already done so much but Ritsu still wound up acting like this whenever the concept of being lovers was brought up.

"Hmm?" Marga gave a cheeky grin as she turned to Masamune. "Are you his lover?"

"Yep."

"Takano-san!" Ritsu had yelled.

"You don't need to hide it, Ritsu. Rather, from what I can tell, it's too obvious to hide." Marga had chuckled out.

"You should calm down though, you don't want to ruin those flowers." Areta had pointed out.

"Right…" Ritsu took a deep breath, relaxing his hold around the flowers.

"Ritsu, are you alright? You look like you lost weight." Marga had worriedly asked as she walked up to Ritsu. She pressed a slender hand against Ritsu's cheek. She frowned at the loss of softness on his cheek.

"I-I'm working on it…" Ritsu had assured. However, Masamune frowned as he stepped forward.

"If I hadn't checked your refrigerator, you'd still be living off of energy drinks!" He scolded.

"I had granola bars in the cabinet!"

Masamune sighed as he turned to Marga. "Don't worry, I'm making sure he has at least one meal a day. It's not the best meal plan but it's still progress."

"…" Marga stared at Masamune for a few seconds before giving him a thumbs up. "I approve." The duo before her blinked twice in surprise before Areta sighed and propped his hands on his hips.

"Ritsu, you should be grateful for him. What kind of grown man lives off of energy drinks without getting sick? Thinking that just granola bars can fill in the gap is just plain stupid." Areta had pointed out. "If you're going to be together, shouldn't you try to make sure not to worry him so much as well?"

"…" While Ritsu stood there completely bewildered, Masamune had also stood there in shock. He never thought that the two would figure out about their relationship so fast, much less being able to approve of it so quickly.

"Do I need the spoon to make sure you understand that?" Marga had hissed out. Emerald eyes had gone wide while Masamune merely raised an eyebrow. Right behind her, Areta fought back little giggles. As if there were eyes in the back of her head, Marga turned to see Areta immediately stop and gave her a weak grin. She scowled at her husband as he whistled off to the side.

"…!" So it threw everybody off guard when Marga tugged down on Areta's tie again, bringing him down to her level. Letting go of the tie, she bopped him on the side of the head. "Ow… that hurt, Marga…" He rubbed the side of his aching head but Areta couldn't help but start giggling at Masamune's surprised reaction.

"Well?" Marga turned back to Ritsu and Masamune.

"…No, Marga nee-san." Ritsu replied, a ghost of a chuckle emanating through his voice.

"Good."

"…" Everybody stood there for a few moments, unsure of whether or not to head up the steps at this awkward point until Ritsu gasped. "Takano-san, you forgot the fruit!"

"Oh, I must've left them in the car. Let me-"

"I'll get them, Takano-san." Before letting him say anything else, Ritsu immediately handed off the flowers to Masamune and went through his pocket to get the car keys. "I'll be right back." Ritsu nodded off to everybody before he bolted down the path towards the parking lot.

Masamune watched him run off into the distance, bewildered by Ritsu's sudden actions._ "What's up with him?"_

"Is there something on your mind?" Areta asked, causing Masamune to blink twice in surprise.

The dark-haired man asked himself whether or not he should speak what was currently on his mind. He thought he might seem stupid to ask but sighed in the end. "'…The spoon?'" Masamune had asked. As hard as he tried to think it out, he couldn't figure out what Marga would use a spoon for to make Ritsu act so differently at the mention. He didn't think that his pondering over it would appear so obvious to the sharp couple either.

"That's what bothered you?" Marga said.

"What? Your mother never tried to use a spoon on you before?" Surprised, Areta cocked his head and crossed his arms.

"No, why on earth would she?" Recalling his not-so great childhood, even when his mother forced him out to Shikoku, she didn't really change in her parenting style. She just left him to his own devices to explore the little town that they lived in. To be honest, the only thing that Masamune would think his mother would do with a spoon would be to cook with it, but even then she rarely ever was the one who prepared meals for him.

"Wow…" Areta and Marga had gasped. "You're so sheltered…"

"Huh?"

"Oh, well." Marga had sighed as she pulled out a card and handed it over to Masamune. "If you two ever have any problems, you can always come to us." He looked over the card to see that it had the couple's phone number and the address of the art supply store Ritsu had told him about. Pulling out his own card, he handed it off to the couple.

"…You really don't care that we're men?" Masamune had asked.

"Not really." Areta and Marga had blankly said in unison. They both chuckled at Masamune when he looked so obviously thrown aback by their answer.

"This has been the first time in so many years that I've seen that look in Ritsu's eyes." Marga told.

"He's happy." Areta had continued. A warm smile flitted across his lips as a hint of nostalgia went across his eyes.

"It's natural that you want the people you love to be happy, right?" Marga had softly assured. "Besides, if it's love, something like gender doesn't matter."

Masamune blinked twice at the familiar sentence. _"Just like Tsuri…" _He had thought.

"Come to think of it, I feel like I've met you before." Marga had mentioned to Masamune.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Have we?" Areta had asked. The two elder adults curiously looked over Masamune but neither could make any connection.

Masamune raised an eyebrow and quickly looked them over to see if he remembers ever seeing them before but shook his head in the end. "Sorry, I'm pretty sure this is the first time we've met." It went without saying that it would definitely be hard to forget people like Areta and Marga. An overgrown redhead with golden eyes and a tall woman with such piercing eyes are really hard to come by.

"I'm back!" Everybody turned to see Ritsu shuffling up to them with the two pieces of fruit in his hands. Everybody could see that a very warm looking blush and rare smile had graced Ritsu's face. "Here you go, Takano-san." Stopping at Masamune's side, the two exchanged the flowers and fruits.

"They'll definitely like those!" Areta had chirped. Everybody started heading for the steps. Soft clackers of their shoes emanated from the stone steps as they steadily rose up the incline. Masamune quickly took note of the darkening sky, realizing that they must've stayed in the cemetery longer than what they had expected.

"Here it is…" Finally getting to the top of the steps, everyone finds a ring of graves that stood in the center of a small field. A mass of trees surrounded the field except for a gap in front of them that gave an amazing view of the distant ocean. Walking past each of them, Masamune took note of the fact that each of the people inscribed on each of the stones was an Onodera.

"Huh? Did you also give them the fruit?" Ritsu had asked. Looking at two of the graves, he found an apple on Tsuri's grave and a pomegranate on his mother's. They also had a small cup of tea on each of the graves.

"Nope. We brought them apple and pomegranate tea. These were already there when we got here." Marga had nonchalantly pointed out.

"I… see…" An unreadable expression was on Ritsu's face as he headed over to the gravestones. Unsure of whatever Ritsu might be feeling at the moment, Masamune still put the fruit on the respective graves. Turning to Ritsu, the brunet gave a small nod as he came forward. Setting the flowers between the gravestones, Ritsu went down on his knees as he clasped his hands together. He softly held them to his lips, looking as if he were praying.

"…" A calm breeze went by as the contours of Ritsu's body started to glow. Soft rings of gold chimed throughout the field, whisking themselves past the bystanders' feet. There was a hint of surprise in Areta and Marga's eyes but they didn't seem to make as much of a fuss as some people might have done. Seeing the familiar rings again, Masamune couldn't help but gasp at the beautiful sight of Ritsu's gently glowing form.

The area had instantly gotten warmer with the shining rings coming in waves. Finding himself starting to overheat, Masamune decided to take off his jacket. Getting it off, he gasped in surprise when he looked down, seeing small orbs of light trickling off the blades of grass and floating up into the dark sky.

"Look, they're dancing…" Areta had softly told, turning towards the cemetery below them. Masamune and Marga followed him towards the edge of the hill to get a full view of the sight before them.

"Whoa…" Amber eyes had gone wide when he saw multiple golden glowing figures out and about nearby the graves. The warm laughter of shining people young and old filled up the night sky. They all happily danced with each other as the balls of light continued to float up into the sky.

"Hah…" Getting exhausted, Ritsu started to breathe heavily. A small dot of sweat trickled down his cheek as Areta quickly made his way over.

"Ritsu?" The tall man gently shook Ritsu's shoulder. "…!" There was one final ring of light that emanated from their bodies, causing all of the surrounding trees to sprout cherry blossoms. The bright pink ring of petals surrounded the surprised group of people. Disoriented, Areta swooned before falling backwards. "Uh…" There was a very heavy thud that vibrated through the ground as thick red hair was splayed out in the flower-filled grass.

"Areta? Areta!" Marga had cried out. Both Marga and Masamune had frantically bolted over to their lovers. They could feel the pits in their stomachs get even larger when they saw Ritsu fall to the side. "Ritsu!" They both got to their respective lovers, frantically holding them in their arms.

"So sleepy…" Areta had yawned out. He slowly blinked, trying to focus his eyes onto Marga. "Sorry…" He lightly chuckled before he drooped in his wife's hold. Soft snores emanated from his throat as Areta slept.

"Oi…" Masamune tried to shake Ritsu gently but only got soft laughter in return.

"Look, Takano-san… it's so pretty…" An arm dazedly reached up. Masamune followed it to see an incredible amount of stars littering the night sky. It was almost like sparkling glitter that was spread out across a chalkboard. However, he quickly looked back down when he felt Ritsu's arm plop at his side. The brunet's chest softly rose as he slept in Masamune's arms. "Takano-san…" The cog-shaped grooves in the locket continued to glow as Masamune worriedly held Ritsu.

"Nero-sama…" Marga had murmured. Fear was etched into Marga's eyes as she looked directly in front of the group. Confused at the odd name, Masamune followed her gaze and blinked twice at the sight.

There was a distant figure floating before them. Light brown locks were tied in a loose braid that was over one shoulder. This person would've been confused for a woman, had he not worn a traditional male kimono. The man actually seemed to be a more mature version of Ritsu. He had a stronger chin and paler green eyes, which glared down on the people before him…

Disappearing for a split second, the man reappeared directly in front of Masamune and Ritsu. Using the grave as a type of armrest for his elbows, the ghost leaned over and stared intently into Masamune's eyes. They stared at each other for who knew how long until the long-haired man sighed.

"Tsk. Useless." The man merely scoffed to the side before disappearing.

* * *

**A/N: And that ends this installment!**

**I hope all of you like my introduction to Ritsu's uncle and Marga! :D**

**I know a lot of people were looking forward to updating my Hostage situation fic but I also wanted to get into the mood of working with my other ones again since they've been left untouched for so long and Hostage Situation will be ending soon...**

**My mood is all good now so my updates might be a little faster depending on my college work.**

**On one note, I kind of want to let everybody know that many of my OCs will reappearing in various fics that I'll be making in the future but since each of them will technically be a different universe, they might come out differently. I guess the best way to realize that would be to read them when the time comes.**

**The next chapter will feature the second half of Tsuri's attempt to give Yoshino the Shigofumi! :D**

**Sid- Thanks for loving this fic, it really makes me smile. And no, I'm not European, brunet is just the male version of brunette. I know some people use brunette for both genders but i find it less confusing like this. Also, Tsuri's and Ritsu's name similarity was intentional and I'm really happy you caught that! I figured it would be better to just flip the syllables around rather than give her completely different name. :D**

**Tac- Well this chapter kind of told how it happened but I do intend to show the scene at one point in time! :)**

**Until again and please review! :D**


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